


Sweet Nightmares - Book 3

by opal_sapphire



Series: Sweet Nightmares [3]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-24 05:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 37,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18161783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_sapphire/pseuds/opal_sapphire





	1. For The Next Millenium

There were plenty of things in this world that Morgana enjoyed. Getting a call near midnight wasn't one of them.

"You're lucky," she said. "If it were anyone else, I would have opened with ‘piss off’."

"Good thing I'm not anyone else," Cami replied.

"What's up?"

"Vincent called. The police found a body and they want my psychological insight on it. And, since he doesn't have your phone number, he asked me to call you."

"So he wants us to look at a dead body? Definitely not what I imagined my night to look like. I'll meet you there."

She contemplated flying, but if there was a crime scene there were going to be plenty of people. It probably wouldn't go well if she just dropped from the sky, so to speak. No, driving was probably her best bet.

Grendel decided to stay home and infest her bed with more of his fur. She wished she could join him.  
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Morgana saw the flashing police lights from a couple blocks over, so she parked there. The crowd was being held back by officers and tape. Cami had beat her there, and when Vincent saw her he waved her over. An officer lifted the tape for her and she ducked under to get to them.

"What's so bad about this body?" She asked, tucking her hands in her jean pockets.

"I think we're about to find out," Cami replied.

"The thing you gotta understand is me and NOLA PD got a relationship that goes back to that nastiness with my ex-wife," Vincent said. "I'm their expert in anything that seems occult, and every so often they come across the aftermath of some black magic, and they call me in."

A detective joined them. "Is this your friend, the shrink?" He held out his hand to Cami. "Will Kinney, detective, homicide."

"Cami O'Connell, bartender, part-time shrink," Cami replied, shaking his hand.

Will's gaze landed on Morgana, and he held his hand out to her. She took it and gave him a warm smile.

"Morgana Carter, bartender, tired," she said.

He chuckled. "I don't remember Vincent mentioning you."

"We only met a few months ago. I happen to have experience with the occult as well, unfortunately. Vincent asked me to join him and Cami for additional help."

Will nodded. "Vince, show them the body. We'll see if Miss O'Connell can do what you say she can do. And if Miss Carter has anything to offer."

Morgana didn't care for his attitude too much. He seemed to be appraising them, as if they were things to be judged based on what he thought their value was. But then, he was on the job. Maybe this was just how he worked.

Regardless, she and Cami followed Vincent down the alley. Morgana blanched when she saw the body.

He was held up by loose ropes around his arms and shoulders. Wearing a suit, absolutely drenched in blood. The most interesting part was the smile carved into his face, Joker style.

"I'm no forensic psychologist, but whoever did this took their time," Cami said. "He bled a lot, which means he was alive, but it's like he just stood there."

She gestured to the ropes. "These ropes are just for display. He wasn't bound, there are no marks on his wrists, no signs of struggling or clawing."

"Compulsion," Morgana muttered. "Can be a nasty thing."

"Maybe rich boy pissed off the wrong vampire," Vincent added.

Will came back over. "How are you guys doing over here? Tell me you got something."

"It seems methodical," Cami said. "Precise. The wounds may have a special meaning for the killer. Not a formal ritual, but intentional. And the things we do on purpose...we tend to repeat."

Will nodded and escorted them to the edge of the scene.

"I'm going home to try and sleep," Morgana said, ducking under the tape. "You guys need a lift?"

"No, thanks," Cami replied. Vincent shook his head.

"Keep in touch," Morgana said. "And please be careful."  
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Morgana wasn't sure what exactly she could do. She didn't have any expertise when it came to solving supernatural murders--unless you counted books and TV. And her advice was hardly sage.

And yet here she was, in the church-turned-gym, trying to help Cami and Vincent.

"Gnarly stuff," Marcel said, looking at the photo on Cami's phone.

"Yeah, the guy was torn apart," Vincent replied. "I mean, there are no obvious puncture wounds, but whoever did that had to be a vampire."

"And no one heard any screams, so he must have been compelled to just stand there and suffer," Cami added.

"You think this was us?" Marcel asked incredulously. "My guys know better than to leave a body in the streets."

"Yeah, well how well do you know your guys?" Vincent retorted.

"Dead bodies lead to headlines, which means tourism drops. We don't like to mess with the food supply."

"Marcel, maybe somebody new lost control?" Cami asked.

"Maybe you should consider that my guys aren't the only vampires in town," he replied.

"You don't think this was Klaus."

"Elijah says Klaus has been on his best behavior. I've known the guy for over 200 years. Best behavior ain't exactly his thing."

Morgana snorted.

"Sooner or later he'll cut loose," Marcel continued. "Or maybe he already did."

He walked away after that, leaving the three of them standing there wondering what to do next.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana didn't have to wait long, actually. Going to the bayou at night wasn't exactly at the top of her list of favorite pastimes, but if it meant getting to see Freya and Hope, it was all worth it.

Grendel decided to join her this time. No surprise there, given that he still adored Hope.

"Freya?" Morgana called. She turned and saw a shack.

"Here," Freya called back.

Morgana went to the shack. Freya was crouched in front of Hope, who was dozing in her stroller.

"What's going on?" Morgana asked.

"Elijah called," Freya replied. "He had to go take care of something, and Hope couldn't join him."

Morgana sat next to the stroller. She couldn't help but smile at Hope's sleepy little face. Grendel curled up in between Morgana and Freya and began quietly purring.

"So what's going on with you?" Freya asked.

"Solving a grizzly supernatural murder," Morgana replied. "You know, the usual."

Freya raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to go on. Morgana explained the whole thing, whispering the description of the body in her ear so Hope didn't hear.

"And once again, the city is even less safe than usual," she finished.

Freya chuckled. "Isn't it always."

The silence that followed was comfortable. Nothing but nature and Grendel's purrs filling the air.

"It's difficult to believe that only a few months ago the idea of us having a conversation like this was almost impossible to imagine," Freya said.

Morgana smiled. "Well, I wouldn't say impossible. It was highly unlikely. But then, we barely knew each other. I don't know about you, but the only thing I knew for sure was that we had a common enemy. Oh, what's that saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That was my mindset at the time."

"And now?"

"Now I think of you as a friend. Truly."

Freya smiled.

"Thank you for giving me a chance," she said after a moment. "I didn't know if anyone would accept or trust me, and you did, even when my siblings didn't."

Morgana reached over and squeezed her hand. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."  
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"You two seem pretty convinced Klaus had nothing to do with it," Vincent said. "That only leaves a couple hundred vampires in the Quarter."

He, Cami and Morgana had met up at Cami's apartment the next day to discuss the murder case. He was sitting on the couch, and Morgana and Cami had taken the armchairs. Grendel was wandering around the apartment.

"That's the thing," Cami replied. "Even if we figure out who killed this guy, then what? It's a vampire, what are the police gonna do? We'd be sending the arresting officers to get slaughtered, and if we warned them we'd get locked up for being insane."

"That's New Orleans for you," Morgana sighed. "Just another blood-soaked, corpse-ridden day and nothing we can do about it."

"Our city, our streets, not our fault, but it is our problem," Vincent agreed.

A phone buzzed. Cami pulled hers out and answered. "Hello?"

Pause. "Yeah, of course."

She hung up and stood. "There's another body."

Morgana stood as Grendel jumped on her shoulder. "I'm coming with."  
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Morgana chuckled quietly to herself as she remembered Will's reaction to her presence.

_**"I don't remember inviting you," he'd said.** _

_**"I don't remember asking," she'd replied.** _

_**"You like to break the rules, don't you?"** _

_**"I like to bend them, yes. One of my favorite hobbies."** _

She was surprised he'd let her pass through. Not that it would've mattered; she would've gotten in one way or another.

She pulled her keys out of her pocket. Grendel suddenly started growling and hissing at something behind her. He dug his claws in her shoulder and fluffed out his fur.

Great. This should be fun. Knowing her luck, she’d become one of those victims and then have to explain how she came back to life despite having the blood drained out of her body.

Morgana turned around, silently calling on Fire. She decided to hold off on the fireballs for the moment. Out from the shadows came someone she never thought she’d see again.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Morgana Carter?" They asked.

"Lucien Castle, what a surprise," she replied.

He stepped out from the shadows completely and smiled. She returned it. Grendel calmed immediately, though he kept his claws out slightly.

"How are you, darling?" He asked.

"I'm well, and you?" She replied.

"Fantastic, thank you. What brings you to New Orleans?"

"I've lived here for over a century."

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "What brings you to this fine, busy city?"

"I'm visiting an old friend. And when I heard talk about a beautiful young woman with dark hair and seemingly magical abilities, I simply had to know if my suspicions were correct."

She chuckled. "Well, you and I both know that the word 'young' certainly doesn't apply to me."

"Yet you still look as radiant as ever," Lucien insisted.

She smiled. "Well, it's rather late, and I've had a long day. I should get going."

"Of course, wouldn't want you to miss your beauty sleep. I remember how grouchy you are when you miss so much as a moment," he added.

"Ah, if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's my morning temper. It's wonderful to see you again, Lucien."

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "The pleasure is all mine, love."

"Good night."

"Good night, Morgana."

She forced herself to walk calmly to her car. She didn't drop her guard or her façade until her apartment door was locked and chained. She added a barrier spell for good measure.

Morgana took a deep breath and downed a shot of whiskey and then a glass of ice water. She hadn't been expecting that.

Whatever Lucien wanted, she just hoped he left New Orleans soon. And that she wouldn't have to meet him again, if she could help it.


	2. You Hung The Moon

As soon as Morgana got the text that Hayley was missing, she rushed to the compound. Apparently poachers had been out to the bayou, and there were dozens of dead wolves. Hayley never came to see Hope.

Morgana almost tripped trying to run into the compound and pull her candles out of her bag at the same time. Freya had already set up the spell, so she sat across from her. Morgana was pointedly ignoring Klaus, who was holding Hope.

Once the candles were lit, she and Freya joined hands and started chanting.

"Vinde val tratunderes. Vinde val tratunderes."

They broke apart with a gasp.

"We can't find her," Freya said. "There's nothing, it's like she doesn't exist, or..."

"Or she's dead," Klaus finished.

"No, no, no." Jackson appeared behind them. "You have to find her."

Suddenly sharp cracking sounds filled the air. He jerked along with them.

"Klaus, the chains," Freya ordered.

Klaus handed Hope to Freya and got the chains. The sun was rising, so Jackson was turning back into a wolf.

"Freya, Morgana, please," he begged as Klaus chained him to the wall. "Please do the spell again, I can't go a month without--"

He cut himself off with a yell. They watched, unable to do anything, as Jackson continued to shift. And then it stopped.

"It stopped," he said after a moment. He looked just as shocked as the rest of them.

What the hell was going on?  
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Morgana was heading back to the courtyard when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and turned.

"I thought you'd left," Klaus said.

"I did," she replied.

"You said you were leaving."

"And I did, Klaus. You know I meant the compound."

He sighed. "I never meant--"

She pointed at him. "Don't. Unless there's an apology thrown in there, don't even try. I don't want your excuses, I don't want your attempts at justifying your actions."

"Then what do you want, Morgana?"

"I want you to make it right! I want you to apologize, to _try_ , Niklaus! But I know you, and I know you never will."

"Why stick around, then?" He growled. "Why waste your time?"

"You know why. Or were you not paying attention? I'm still here because of Hope. That little girl needs both of her parents. She needs her mother, she obviously misses her. And now because you're such a vindictive asshat, there is a very real possibility that Hayley is dead."

Morgana didn't wait for Klaus to reply. She turned back around and went downstairs.

Poor Jackson was still tied up. Despite the sudden pause, he could still shift at any moment. Freya was talking to him. Before Morgana could join them, someone appeared and knocked Freya against the wall headfirst. She collapsed on the ground.

"Where the hell is that bastard?" Hayley demanded.

"Hayley?" Morgana called, stunned.

Hayley turned to her.

"Hayley."

Morgana groaned. He just couldn't help himself, could he? She rushed over to Freya, who was still unconscious.

"Come to apologize for your transgressions?" Klaus asked.

Hayley stormed up to him. "Do you have any idea what you have taken from me?"

She tried to punch him, but he caught her arm and twisted it behind her.

"The very thing you sought to take from me," he replied as she freed herself. "The chance to raise our daughter. Your punishment fits your crime."

"Your family was ruining her life!"

Hayley tried to punch him again, but he caught her and held her back by the neck.

"My family saved her life while you were off playing hide-and-seek in the forest!" Klaus argued.

Jackson suddenly broke free of the chains. He tried to go help Hayley, but Freya, conscious again, held up her hand. He fell to his knees. Morgana called on Air and threw up a shield to keep him from going.

"Let me go, he'll kill her!" He said.

"He'll kill you!" Freya argued.

Morgana helped her to her feet, making sure to keep an eye on Jackson.

"There's a very short list of people who've tried to take Hope from me, and you're the only one left breathing!" Klaus continued.

"Are you that delusional, Klaus?" Hayley retorted. "You cursed all of us, every wolf that I fought for, everyone that stood up for our daughter! You took all of them away from their families!"

"Yes, yes, your precious pack, the family you chose over us, and in doing so you chose over Hope!"

"Is that what you were planning on telling her when she got older and asked for me, that I abandoned her?"

Hayley jumped up to the second floor and headed to Hope's room. Klaus jumped up and blocked her. She punched and shoved him.

"My parents left me!" She growled. "Yours turned their backs on you! Look at us now, Klaus!"

Elijah stormed in. "Niklaus!"

Hayley kept hitting Klaus, but he just stood there and took it.

"She deserves something better than what we had!" She screamed. "All I have ever wanted for her is something better! Fight back! Fight back!"

Klaus looked past her. Hayley followed his gaze. Hope was standing behind them, watching.

"Oh, she's walking," Hayley breathed. "When did she start walking?"

She slowly approached Hope and picked her up. "I missed it. I missed everything."

Morgana took a deep breath and let down the wall keeping Jackson back. Hayley came back downstairs with Hope and met him halfway. Klaus followed.

"Hayley, what happened?" Jackson asked. "Is the curse broken?"

"I'll explain later," she promised. "We're safe for now."

"Good for you," Klaus said. "I'll have your bedroom made up."

"The only way that I will stay under your roof is if I'm in a coffin," she growled.

"If you think I will allow Hope out of my protection for a second--"

"What you'll allow doesn't matter, Klaus," she interrupted. "Welcome to a 21st century custody battle. Moms win them now."

"If I may," Elijah cut in. "The apartments across the street have recently been renovated. I might pay a visit to the management. The fact that Hope will never be out of earshot should assuage your incessant paranoia."

"So we are to listen as my daughter is raised by savages?" Klaus argued.

"Because everyone here is so damn civilized?" Jackson retorted.

Morgana snorted.

"Brother, you created the problem," Elijah said. "This may well be the solution."

Klaus didn't reply.

"Put the place in Jackson's name," Hayley said. "Klaus won't be invited in."

She and Jackson left with Hope. Elijah followed. Freya and Morgana went the other way, leaving Klaus standing there.  
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Morgana gave a low whistle, inspecting the bump on Freya's head.

"Any dizziness?" She asked.

Freya shook her head slightly. Morgana raised an eyebrow, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Regardless, I wouldn't recommend doing that," she advised dryly.

Freya smiled and put the ice pack back in place.

There was a knock behind them. They turned to see Elijah standing in the doorway.

"I suppose I was misguided to believe Hayley's return would ease tensions in this house," Freya mused.

"Misguided, delusional," he replied. He smiled. "Refreshingly optimistic. You're new."

"What is it?" She asked.

"I received some unsettling information," he said. "From Lucien Castle. I don't trust the source, but...I trust you."

Morgana could only hope her shock at Lucien's name wasn't too obvious. They went back downstairs. She and Freya set up the spell while Elijah and Klaus watched.

"If you fed on this prophetic witch, her blood may still be in your system," Freya said. "If there's a weapon that can kill you, we need to know."

She dipped her hands in the blood-filled bowl. Morgana spread her hands over the table and closed her eyes.

"No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve," they chanted. "No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve. No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve."

Images flashed through Morgana's mind. Blood spattered over Elijah's portrait, a figure coming out of water with huge fangs, screaming and roaring--

She came out of it and bent over, hand over her mouth and breathing hard. For a moment she thought she would vomit. Klaus put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged him off and forced herself to straighten.

"It's true," she said. "Something terrible is hanging over you, Rebekah too."

"If this prophecy is fulfilled, you will all fall," Freya added. "One by friend, one by foe, and one by family."  
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"Morgana."

She paused and turned to Elijah. "What's up?"

"How do you know Lucien Castle?" He asked.

Okay, so apparently it was obvious.

"We met a couple hundred years ago," she said. "Parted ways not long after. He found me the other night, said he was visiting an old friend."

She furrowed her brows. "Don't trust him, Elijah."

"What makes you say that?"

"When my gut tells me something's not quite right, I prefer to listen to it. I didn't when I first met Lucien, and it got me into a bit of a mess."

She opened her car door. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Lucien Castle is not your friend."


	3. I'll See You In Hell or New Orleans

Cami dropped a folder on the table in front of Vincent and Morgana.

"Every one of his victims has the same profile," she said. "Grew up rich, family comes from old money, successful, educated, white males living the playboy lifestyle."

"So it is one guy," Vincent said. "Not a copycat."

"Not just any guy," Cami replied. "It's Lucien. I'd bet my degree on it. Which doesn't excuse your detective friend from stealing my laptop."

Vincent pulled out his phone. "Oh, that's convenient. It's Kinney. They got Lucien at the station." He stood. "I should head down there. They might need the type of help a gun can't provide."

"I'll come with you," Cami replied.

Vincent gave her a look.

"I wanna hear what he has to say."

She turned to Morgana. "You coming?"

Morgana shrugged, her frown feeling permanently etched into her face. "Might as well. Don't count on me interacting with him."

Cami was the first one out the door. Vincent and Morgana lingered behind.

"You have a history with Lucien," he said, pointing at her.

"I'm 403 years old, Vincent, I have a history with plenty of people," she sighed and headed for the door. "Whether or not they're still alive to tell the tale is another story."  
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Two-way mirrors were strange things, depending on where you stood. Morgana liked standing on the side where Lucien couldn't see her. But as Will talked with him, she couldn't help but feel like he was playing them. She didn't like being played.

Will slid a folder across the table. "Mr. Castle, thought you might want to see this."

Lucien opened it and flipped through the pictured of the bodies. "I read about this. Oh, those poor men. Oh, they were, in life, anything but poor. Solid gold cufflinks, Bulgari watches--such ostentatious displays of wealth no doubt attracted the attention of some vile, criminal element."

"You seem to know a lot about the case," Will drawled. "Big fan of true crime?"

"Look at my watch, Mr. Kinney, my cufflinks," Lucien retorted. "But for a twist of fate, one of those faces might be mine."

"Well, you sound real frightened by the prospect. You know, in my experience people like you don't believe in fate. They make their own luck, whether it's good or bad."

"Well, then I shouldn't be here long." Lucien spread his arms. "People like me tend to have exceptional lawyers to get us out of trouble like this, but while I'm here, you should know that I do hate to be bored. And you bore me."

He pointed at the mirror, and Morgana's stomach dropped.

"I know that behind that mirror is Cami O'Connell, and I would very much like to talk to her alone."

Will stood and left the room. Lucien waved at the mirror, smirking. Cami turned to go in.

"Cami, no," Morgana whispered. "He's not...he's not good. Please don't feed his fixation, Cami, please."

"Morgana, he's not gonna kill me in the middle of a police precinct," Cami replied.

She went in anyway. Vincent followed. Morgana really didn't want to go in; she'd much rather stay on this side of the mirror, and, judging by his constant shifting, Grendel did, too.

But if Lucien knew that Cami was here, chances were that he knew she was as well. Morgana was many things, but a coward was not one of them. So she went in, leaned back against the mirror, crossed her arms and tried her absolute hardest to school her expression into something cool and collected.

Hell, if she could pretend Hope was dead, she could do this.

"You asked to speak to me," Cami said. "Here I am, willing to listen, which is more than you deserve."

"I thought New Orleans had the same burden of proof as the rest of the colonies," Lucien replied. "What is it? Ah, yes, innocent until proven guilty."

"The murders started the same day you got into town," Vincent argued. "All the victims match a pattern, wealth that, uh, you yourself seem to exude, not to mention we know what you are."

"What I am is a ruthless, vicious, unstoppable killer," Lucien replied, smirking. "That's not to say I had anything to do with it. Far from it."

"Why bother denying it if you are what you say you are?" Cami asked.

"Cami, you don't know me," Lucien replied. "But if you did, you would see that we were the same. All four of us, actually. Four souls caught in the orbit of the Mikaelson family yet somehow survived to tell the tale, though each of us has our share of scars."

He told them a story from a thousand years ago, before he became a vampire. He was a servant in a castle, and had fallen in love with the count's daughter. When her brother found out, he punished him severely.

"Even after all these years, you continue to reenact your trauma," Cami said when he finished. "You're choosing victims who are the contemporary equivalent of the privileged son who hurt you."

Lucien sighed. "I share a deeply personal tale a woe, one meant to garner sympathy and inspire kinship, yet all you take away is an admission of guilt."

"Messed up new guy comes to town, messed up new guy is responsible for murders," Vincent replied.

"Okay, given that you seem incapable of comprehending a sophisticated solution, allow me to posit an equally simple one," Lucien said. "These murders are an attempt to disparage my good name, thus poisoning me against the one person I came here to protect: Niklaus himself."

Ah. So Klaus was the old friend.

"Now, if someone wanted to weaken my ability to protect Niklaus," he continued, "perhaps it's because they themselves would like to see him dead."

"You're an intelligent man, so I won't insult you," Cami replied. "We both know that nothing you say proves anything, so what I want to know is why you asked to speak to me. Why tell me your story? Is it because I know Klaus and part of you must still blame him? Maybe you want to make him look bad in the eyes of a friend."

Lucien took her hand. "Oh, now I know why Klaus is so taken with you. That delicious, mortal mind framing every moment of your meager life span."

Cami pulled her hand away.

"The truth is, I know you have Klaus' ear," he continued. "And I need him to trust me. As for your claim that I blame him for my ancient wounds, well, time heals all wounds, and my wounds healed a thousand years ago."

He told them another story, one about how he tried to get revenge on the son who hurt him and was killed.

"And so I died for a little while," he finished. "Talk about trauma. Not the wounds themselves or even the execution, but the humiliation of being judged by one's supposed betters. I will never again stand for such judgement. Though for you, Camille," he added, "I will gladly declare my innocence. In fact, I can prove it."

"Prove it how?" Vincent asked.

"Well, if by nothing else, then perhaps logic."

Morgana rolled her eyes. She was getting tired of this. It was very tempting to turn the cameras off for a moment and snap Lucien's   
neck.

"Why should I undermine my own safety by leaving behind a trail of dead bodies?" He asked. "I mean, why commit myself to these preposterous murders? Unlike my enemies, I have nothing to gain."

"Your enemies?" Cami repeated. "You really think someone is trying to frame you for this? Who?"

"Now, isn't that the question we should be asking, and how fortunate it's one I can answer."

The door swung open, revealing Klaus. Cami, Vincent and Lucien stood. Morgana pushed herself off the wall.

"I'd have thought your time with me would inspire a more careful selection of the company you keep," Klaus growled. "We're leaving."

"Klaus, he says he knows who the killer is," Cami argued.

"Whatever Lucien's said to you today is most certainly a lie," Klaus replied.

"Oh, come on, Nik, why should I lie?" Lucien asked.

"For the same reason you lied about avoiding a werewolf bite when Elijah saw it with his own eyes," Klaus replied. "This ends now."

"Then you're giving Tristan the victory he seeks," Lucien argued. "He is the guilty one."

Klaus paused. He turned to the others. "I'm going to need a word with Lucien in private."

Morgana, Cami and Vincent left the room, closing the door behind them. While Cami and Vincent started quietly discussing what just happened, Morgana closed her eyes and called on Air.

"Whatever Tristan's role in this charade may be," Klaus was saying, "have no fear, I will discover it. First I will drain you of vervain. Then I'm going to ask you a few questions, and once you've answered, if I'm feeling sentimental, perhaps I'll grant you a painless death."

"Please, enough posturing," Lucian groaned. "Ask me anything you want. As I've said, I'm only here to protect you."

"And yet you lied about your werewolf bite. Why?"

"I simply didn't want to bother you. Don't you have greater concerns than a little wolf bite I can cure on my own?"

How the hell could Lucien have a cure for a werewolf bite without Klaus' blood?

"Let's discuss these absurd murders," Lucien continued. "If it were true that I was scattering bodies about and scarring up faces, then you'd be right to assume I'm mentally unstable. I'm not, by the way. But who would benefit the most from you thinking that I am? Who else but Tristan? Because if you don't trust me, if you kill me and are forced to stand alone, wouldn't that benefit him?"

"It's a very interesting theory," Klaus replied. "Only I don't need your protection. I'm quite capable of protecting myself."

"Undoubtedly. But who looks after your family? Your friends? Camille, for instance? Such associations make you vulnerable, and thus, in need of me."

Morgana thanked Air as soon as she heard footsteps. She opened her eyes to see Will opening the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded as soon as he saw Klaus.

"I'm Mr. Castle's legal consult," Klaus replied. "Here to ensure justice is served."

"Well, your client's not gonna need you today," Will replied.

Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"We found another body. This one's fresh. It couldn't have been you. You're free to go, Mr. Castle. Don't leave town," he added, leaving.

Lucien stood and spread his arms. "And like a phoenix, I rise. Do think about what I said, Nik."

He winked at Morgana as he passed.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I don't like this, Grendel," Morgana mumbled.

Grendel grumbled in agreement.

"I don't know how Lucien and Klaus know each other, but this is not gonna end well. I just want Lucien long gone, far away from here, never to return. Is that really too much to ask?”


	4. A Walk On The Wild Side

Halloween was Morgana's second favorite holiday (Christmas being the first). All the costumes and decorations, and she never quite knew for sure what--or who--was fake and what was real, especially in New Orleans.

She'd taken the time this year to choose a costume, even going so far as to having one commissioned. She would’ve made it herself, but she never seemed to have time for things like that anymore. So when Klaus texted her asking to meet at the compound, she was a mix of surprise that he texted her and a feeling that she wasn’t going to have a normal Halloween this year.

"I simply want to know who is here at any given moment," Klaus' voice echoed down from upstairs. Morgana followed, running into Hayley and Elijah on the way up. "I hardly think that's too much to ask."

"Well, as long as we're taking attendance," Hayley quipped.

"Oh, look, it's my not-so-loving elder brother, my former one night stand and my eternally angry ex," Klaus retorted. "What a nice, normal family gathering."

"Does that make you the paranoid mewling quim?" Morgana asked.

She tried to hide her smile, she really did. But it was hard not to let it grow when the others chuckled and Grendel made his little laughing noise.

"Elijah was just catching me up on how you have no clue which one of your long-lost buddies you can trust and which one is trying to kill you," Hayley said.

"Well, clearly what the situation needs is more opinions," Klaus replied, gesturing to them. "I assume you told her about the prophecy."

"I was just getting to that," Elijah said.

"Now would be good," Hayley said.

"Well," Klaus began. "It appears my old mate Lucien has acquired a genuine seer, and in an effort to prove his good intentions, he got her to show us some rather dire visions of future doom. It's grim stuff, really, not for the faint of heart."

"Whose doom are we talking about?" Hayley asked. "Because if it's yours, then I think we're all okay with that."

Klaus laughed. "Well, sadly, we're all on the chopping block. But chin up. This witch claims her visions are constantly evolving, so you may just get your wish."

"I want to meet this psychic witch," Hayley said. She turned to Elijah. "Tonight."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
So apparently tonight was a Halloween ball hosted by the Strix, a group of vampires from Elijah's sire line led by Tristan de Martel. Elijah and Hayley would be attending. Morgana wasn't invited, and frankly she didn't want to go. She was right where she wanted to be tonight: with Freya, drinking and partying in the Quarter on Halloween night.

The sun was setting, they were about to have their first drink, and Morgana was about to magic herself into her costume.

And then Freya's phone rang.

"What is it now, Niklaus?" She answered, putting it on speaker.

"Really, Freya," Klaus replied. "Is that how you greet the brother you've spent your entire life trying to find?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you not calling for a favor?"

"You're absolutely right, love," Lucien said. "We need your help. A dear, dear friend of mine has gone missing, and we must find her. Our lives depend on it."

"And I take it I was the only one willing to answer your call."

"Well, you're certainly the loveliest."

Morgana rolled her eyes.

"Niklaus," Freya said. "Please tell your creepy friend that just because he's good-looking doesn't mean I won't turn him inside out and hang what remains from a pole."

"Freya, please," Klaus replied. "I am asking as your brother for your help."

She looked at Morgana, who shrugged.

"Fine," she sighed. "Text me the address."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Please, do come in," Lucien greeted them.

Morgana wrinkled her nose. It wasn’t that his penthouse was a pigsty—on the contrary, it was actually quite nice—it was just that there was a certain…smell.

"This place smells like dried blood and bad cologne," Freya said.

"That's just my natural musk," Lucien replied. "I find the ladies love it."

"If you're quite finished, here," Klaus said, handing the girls an object. "This is hers."

They began lighting the candles.

"Your brother must have told Tristan about the prophecy," Lucien said. "If that sadistic bastard so much as touches a hair on her head--"

"Yes, the witch's hair isn't what has me worried," Klaus cut him off. "Frankly, your girl seems a bit wanton when it comes to handing out visions."

"Alexis would not share her gifts with him. That doesn't mean he wouldn't torture it out of her."

Morgana and Freya joined hands and spread the sand, whispering the spell. The sand circled around the map several times before stopping.

"Ah, the Davilla estate," Lucien said. "Isn't that where..."

"Our old friend Tristan lured Elijah just the other night," Klaus confirmed. "It seems your fears are warranted."

"Granted, we are the two most cunning, powerful and handsome vampires of all time..."

"Granted."

Morgana rolled her eyes so hard she thought this would finally be the time her head rolled off.

"But that still leaves us a bit outnumbered," Lucien finished. "How do you propose we fight our way into an entire secret society of ancient vampires?"

"Oh, luckily I have a plan," Klaus replied.

"As long as it doesn't end in preplanned death again," Morgana muttered.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The plan was this: Klaus and Lucien would stumble into the party pretending to be wasted. Morgana and Freya would pretend to be equally drunk girls hanging off their arms along with a couple other random girls. At the right moment, Freya would leave the group and search for Alexis. Depending on how things went, Morgana would stay with the boys.

Klaus' howl sufficiently announced their arrival. The music stopped and everyone turned to them as they entered. Morgana was hanging on Klaus. She felt a bit bad for Freya, who was stuck with Lucien.

"My God, it's a room full of Elijahs," Lucien said.

"I had that exact same nightmare once," Klaus replied.

They laughed.

"Go and grab us a drink, love," Lucien said to Freya. "Feel free to fetch one for yourself."

She walked off behind them.

"One for me, please," Klaus called. "And one for her, and her, and her, and her."

A man came out from the crowd. Morgana assumed it was Tristan.

"You should move along," he said. "You're not welcome here."

Klaus stepped toward him, leaving Morgana and the other girl to scoot closer to Lucien.

"Oh, oh, okay," Klaus replied. "We're not welcome here."

He laughed. "Or maybe you should move along before I make you cry in front of all your little friends."

The group laughed.

"My concern is for your companions," Tristan said. "They appear out of sorts without a shiny pole to ride upon."

"Oh, he's suggesting you're exotic dancers," Lucien said. "Which to him is an insult, if not somewhat hypocritical." He stepped away from the girls and gestured to the person on the pole in the corner. "But don't take it personally, love. He finds all work demeaning. The only dignified way to accumulate wealth is by birth."

He tapped Tristan on the nose. "Boop! Isn't that right, Tristan?"

"Niklaus."

Ah, here comes Elijah. This should be good.

"What is it?" Klaus replied.

"You're hammered," Elijah observed, stepping out from behind the girls. "Which should come as very little surprise to anyone here, but it does hamper the festivities somewhat. So could I recommend that you find the nearest exit and just..."

Klaus nodded.

"And could you take your playthings with you, too?"

Morgana was gonna have fun teasing him about that little comment later.

Klaus took a glass of champagne off a nearby tray and stepped back further into the crowd.

"You know, I used to find it insulting that I was barred from your special little club," he admitted. "But now I realize I lack the flexibility to become a member. I could never get my head far enough up my own ass."

The laugh Morgana let out was genuine this time.

Klaus downed his champagne and stepped in front of Tristan. He pressed the empty glass against him. "Cheap."

Morgana noticed Elijah looking at her, eyes narrowed. She winked and waved.

Klaus joined the group again. "Come on, let's go. This party's dead anyway."

They laughed again, and Klaus howled as they left.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
In order to get Alexis to come with, Freya apparently had to knock her out. Not very surprising, a little frustrating, but at the end of the day they'd gotten her out.

She was awake now. Everyone had gathered in the courtyard of the compound to hear what she had to say. 

Alexis was on the sofa with Lucien next to her. Klaus was on the armchair next to them. Freya was standing next to him, and Elijah, Hayley and Morgana were standing in front of the couch. Elijah and Hayley were still in formal wear, and Freya and Morgana were still in their costumes. Grendel, who hadn't been allowed on the rescue mission, had taken up his place on Morgana's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Alexis said. "I hoped I was wrong, Lucien, I really did. But I saw it."

She looked at Klaus. "I saw him die."

"Did you see the weapon?" Lucien asked quietly.

She nodded.

"What is it?"

"To understand, it must be seen."

She held her arms out to Hayley and Elijah. Hayley sat on her left, and Elijah took Lucien's place on her right. They bit into her arms.

Only a moment after did they pull away, spitting out her blood. Alexis was coughing and gasping for air.

"Something's wrong," Hayley said.

"It's poison," Elijah explained, getting off the couch.

Lucien sat back down and held Alexis as she her coughing slowed. It wasn't long before it stopped altogether, and she had collapsed, blood still dripping from her nose and mouth.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"That was awful," Morgana muttered.

Grendel kneaded her arm, then crawled on her chest and curled up. She'd gone home just as the sun started rising and changed out of her costume.

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," she continued, stroking his spine. "This prophecy scares me. I feel like this is only gonna get so much worse before it gets better. If it gets better."

He laid his head down and started purring. Morgana relaxed into the pillows and closed her eyes. Hopefully she could get a couple hours of sleep before the next emergency.

Hopefully she was worrying over nothing, and everything would be fine by Christmas.


	5. The Axeman's Letter

Parties in New Orleans were certainly a thing to behold. Love them or hate them, no one could deny that there was a certain style to them.

Morgana said as much to Cami and Vincent as they watched people go on by. They were standing on the sidewalk.

"So there is an active serial killer at large, and the city's response is to throw a serial-killer-themed festival," Cami observed.

"Axeman's Jazz Fest is a big deal, Cami," Vincent replied. "Ain't nobody gonna sit that out because some active, second-tier serial killer is on the loose. And as far as killers go, Axeman is the best this city's ever had."

They started walking. Cami gave him a look.

"Alright, who's telling the story?" Morgana asked.

"You lived through it, you go ahead," Vincent insisted.

She smiled. "Okay. Picture it, New Orleans, 1919. After terrorizing the city for months with an actual ax, the guy writes a letter to the Times-Picayune. He says he's a demon."

She held up a finger. "He tells them that he'll kill thousands the next night unless every single house in this city threw a party and played jazz as long as it could. So we did. Why risk it, right? I remember everyone was on edge, waiting for some asshole with an ax to come in and start swinging. We partied like it was our last night on this earth, and for all we knew it was. But no one died that night.

"The relief was palpable throughout the city. The only thing keeping it in check was the fact that Axeman was still roaming around with nothing to stop him now."

"Now, some people think he was a vampire," Vincent added. "He was actually a witch."

"How do you know he's a witch?" Cami asked.

"Because he chose the day of Fete de Kado, the Feast of Gifts," Morgana explained. "Every witch in New Orleans gives a gift to the city in hopes of getting one back."

"Now, Axeman's idea of a gift was not murdering people for a day, and in return, look," Vincent said, gesturing around them. "This city threw him the greatest party it has ever seen."

"Wait," Cami replied. "So what you're saying is, while frat boys celebrate an ax murderer, the witches are having their version of Christmas, which makes them easy pickings for whoever our killer is."

They stopped walking.

"You still think our playboy vampire is the best lead we got?" Vincent asked.

"My gut's telling me he's involved somehow," Cami confirmed. "Which means if he kills again, it's my fault for convincing Klaus not to kill him, so I want to keep tabs on him."

"Speak of the devil, and he will come," Morgana muttered, looking past them.

Lucien was passing through the little shops open for the festival. He didn't seem to notice them.

"Do you think in a hundred years they'll be throwing him a party--smiley face carver blues fest?" Cami asked.

Morgana snorted.

"Well, everyone likes a charismatic killer," Vincent replied. "The three of us know that better than most."

Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Cami exclaimed.

"You two and Klaus, me and my psycho ex-wife," he explained. "Why do you think I don't practice magic anymore? There was something in me that was drawn to Eva's darkness, and I will always be on guard against that part of myself."

"Uh, guys, slight problem," Morgana said.

Lucien had disappeared.

"No, no, no, what just happened?" Cami asked.

"He's playing us, keep an eye out," Morgana warned.

She turned to Cami, but she wasn't there.

"Cami?" She called. " _Cami!_ "

Cami was nowhere in sight, and neither was Lucien. Morgana let out a string of curses. She ran to her car, Vincent hot on her heels. She opened the trunk and the bag of spell ingredients and candles she always kept there and pulled out a map and some sand. She laid out her candles, lit them, grabbed a handful of sand and began chanting.

"Salaku, tusdeh do, salaku, tusdeh do, salaku, tusdeh do.”

She looked down at the map. The sand was circled around what appeared to be an alley, quite a few blocks away. She cursed again as she put her things away.

"We're gonna have to book it on foot," she said. "She's several blocks behind us, but there's too many people in the streets to even bother trying to drive or to fly."

" _Fly?_ " Vincent repeated.

"Yup. Too many witnesses."

They went as fast as they could. Unfortunately, people didn't part for them like the Red Sea, so it was a lot of stumbling and shifting and bumping into people and getting plenty of dirty looks. Morgana couldn't bring herself to care. The only thing she cared about was finding Cami alive and (hopefully) unscathed.

They found her in the alley. Lucien was nowhere to be seen. Cami was holding a dead man, cut up just like the other victims.

By the time the police got there it was dark out. The body had been taken and the area cordoned off.

"There was nothing I could've done," Cami said. Her face was tear-stained.

"I could've," Vincent admitted.

Morgana nodded. "So could I." She shifted and crossed her arms. "It's Lucien, right?"

"I mean, is there really any doubt?" Cami replied. "And, like you both said from the beginning, you can't use cops to take down a vampire."

"You gotta use something else," Vincent agreed. "Something like me."

"What if I told you there was a way you could use magic without actually doing it?" Cami asked slowly.

Vincent and Morgana looked at each other and then back at her. Grendel tilted his head. Before she could explain, however, Will came up to them.

"You had quite a night, O'Connell," he said.

Morgana didn't like his attitude. Grendel bristled.

"I guess I just took a wrong turn," Cami replied.

"You mean to tell me you just turned a corner and happened to find a victim in the murder case you're independently investigating? Vince, were you there for all this?"

"When I got here she was trying to save the guy," Vincent replied. "She was too late, that's it."

"And what about you, Carter?" Will asked.

Morgana did her best to be calm. It wasn't the first time she'd gotten caught up in something like this, after all. "I came with Vincent. Cami was trying to save a dying man. Anyone who faults her for that needs some therapy."

"So you found her after she'd been alone with the victim, is that right?"

"Are you accusing me?" Cami demanded.

"All I know is I used to have to call you to these crime scenes," he replied. "Now here you are, part of one."

He walked away.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana gave a low whistle. She knew Cami had inherited dozens of dark objects from her uncle, but seeing the collection laid out in front of her was another thing entirely.

"You realize half this stuff comes from the Treme witches, right?" Vincent asked.

"How would I know, I inherited it all from my uncle," Cami replied.

"You don't even want to know what this stuff does, Camille. Why didn't you tell me about it before?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey Vincent, you want to check out my creepy collection of black magic knickknacks?"

Morgana smiled.

"See, this is not a joke, alright?" Vincent snapped. "In the wrong hands, this stuff could destroy the city."

"Define the wrong hands." Will entered the room. "Cause I'm taking all of it. Property of NOLA PD, evidence in a murder case."

"Detective Kinney, how did you--" Cami began.

"You really think it was hard for me to find this place?" He cut her off. "Search warrant was easy. I just gave the judge your story. Your twin brother was a mass murderer, your uncle's death smells of a cover-up, and the forensics from tonight's crime scene, crazy thing, only prints on the victim are yours. Combine that with whatever the hell this is, call that probable cause."

Morgana's stomach dropped. Her heart followed suit as Will pulled out a pair of handcuffs and began putting them on Cami.

"Cami O'Connell, you're under arrest," he announced.

"Cami, do not say a word, we'll figure this out," Morgana assured her.

She was going to kill Lucien. But first, Cami had to be released.


	6. Beautiful Mistake

Morgana stormed into the study in the compound. "If I send all your incessant phone calls to voicemail, Elijah, chances are I'm busy. And if this isn't life or death, you can bet your ass I'm going back in the direction I came."

She noticed Freya's bloody hands. "What the hell?"

"Rebekah is missing," Freya explained. "I can't find her, which means her witch body, her connection to magic--it's as if it just vanished."

Morgana blanched and backed out of the room. "Give me a moment."

She rushed downstairs and pulled out some candles from one of the walls. Then she set Grendel down from her shoulder.

"Now, we both know I can't be in two places at once," she whispered. "I wish I could. But I need you to head to the station and keep an eye on Cami. If she's not there, either wait for her or look for her. Just don't get caught."

He didn't look too thrilled.

"I'm not happy either, Grendel. There might not be two of me but there's one of each of us. Besides, you're faster than me."

He fluffed his fur out proudly at that. She smiled. "Please?"

He grumbled and nodded. He jumped on her shoulder again, licked her face and bolted back down and out of the compound.

Elijah and Freya came downstairs, and the three of them went to the church bell tower.

"Mikaelson blood tracks Mikaelson blood," Freya said as Morgana set up her candles. "We should be able to find her. I don't understand, why bring Rebekah into this?"

"They want all three sires," Elijah explained. He sliced his palm and let the blood pour in the bowl. "Tristan and Lucien kept us occupied here while they hunted Rebekah."

"She's strong. She cannot be killed."

"The prophecy says otherwise."

Morgana swallowed and took Freya's hands.

"Sang bis najitt trouver. Sang bis najitt trouver. Sang bis najitt trouver. Sang bis najitt trouver."

When she opened her eyes again, Morgana and Freya were in a room full of vampires. Rebekah was in the middle of them, in her original body. One vampire lunged for Freya, but went right through her.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes," Freya quipped. She held up her hands. " _Menedek qual suurentaa!_ "

Every vampire in the room had their necks snapped and dropped to the floor.

"Not bad," Rebekah said. "Now what?"

"Run," Freya replied.

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, Rebekah, at least go to a different area so they don't immediately attack when they wake up," Morgana groaned.

Even though they did move to a different building, Rebekah still refused to come home. Morgana and Freya broke the spell to talk to Elijah.

"She can't stay there," he said. "Rebekah cannot fight them alone."

"She doesn't want to listen," Morgana replied.

"Perhaps you'll have better luck," Freya suggested.

He pulled out his phone. "It's Marcel." He answered. "Your timing's perfectly horrendous."

Morgana massaged her temples. Grendel still hadn't returned. Though he could be waiting at the compound or the apartment.

"Marcellus, do I need to remind you that Shen Min was known as the Red Sorrow before he was a vampire? You execute him immediately."

Her head snapped up. Shen Min was in town? If the stories she'd heard about him were anything to go on, to say this wasn't good would be an understatement.

"Before he wakes, tear that heart from his chest." Elijah hung up and turned back to him. The three of them joined hands.

"Sang bis najitt trouver. Sang bis najitt trouver."

They were in a different room now. Hopefully a different building too.

"It's good to see you, Elijah, even if you're not flesh and blood," Rebekah said.

"It's time to come home, Rebekah," he replied.

"No. I'm too close to bringing Kol back."

"You're even closer to bringing about your own destruction."

"I'm not leaving without that spell."

"Kol will have to wait, sister," Freya insisted. "The Strix are making their move."

"What happened?" Rebekah asked.

"Hayley had an encounter with Shen Min," Elijah explained. "She and Marcel are dealing with this matter accordingly."

"What the hell are you doing here? Go and save them before that lunatic gets free!"

"Give me your word. Come home now, no detours."

"Fine. But my niece's mum and that handsome fool better be alive when I get back."

Elijah held up his hand for Freya. "You make certain she returns. I'll see you tonight."

Freya sent him home.

"Rebekah, we have to go," she urged. "I'll get you on the first flight out."

"I can't give up now," Rebekah argued. "Not when the answers to bringing our brother back are just a few streets away."

"You promised Elijah," Morgana reminded.

"And what about my promise to Kol?" Rebekah countered. "I've already lost my witch body, I can't go home with nothing."

"Well," Freya sighed. "I suppose arguing with you would be a waste of already precious time."

"See?" Rebekah replied. "You're fitting into this family like a glove."

She turned to Morgana. "Go help Elijah. If Shen Min gets loose--"

"I've heard the stories," Morgana cut her off. "I know what he's capable of. But Elijah, Hayley and Marcel can handle themselves. There's three of them and one of him."

"Please, Morgana."

Morgana glanced between her and Freya. They could handle themselves as well. Maybe she could leave them...

Regardless, Morgana doubted Rebekah was going to give her much of a choice. She threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine." She pointed at Rebekah. "But if you're not home tonight I'm coming for you, whether you like it or not."

Rebekah smiled. "That won't be necessary."

Morgana sighed, giving a little smile of her own. "Then I'll see you tonight, Bekah."

She took Freya's hand and went back. She rushed out of the bell tower and to the gym. That was the only safe place to hold Shen Min without attracting attention. For now, anyway.

When she got there, Elijah was holding Shen Min by the neck.

"Between blood loss and that bite, I'm not sure you have enough time to get answers," Marcel warned.

"Then let's make the most of it," Elijah replied. "I have questions. I want answers. Why were you following Hayley?"

"I was ordered to remove her from the playing field," Shen Min ground out. "She is an obstacle to the thing we truly want."

"Which is what?"

"Davina Claire."

"What do you want with Davina Claire?"

"Tristan needs her to activate a weapon to use against your family."

"What weapon?"

Shen Min didn't answer.

"Forgive me, I'm having a little difficulty hearing you right now. Speak."

"I'd rather die."

Shen Min jerked out of Elijah's grip. Before anyone could do anything, he yanked off his daylight ring and burst into flames.

Morgana closed her mouth. She hadn't been expecting that.

When she was satisfied that they had everything handled, she went back to the bell tower. Marcel decided to join her. They only got halfway before they met Freya. Morgana knew immediately that something was wrong.

"What happened?" She asked.

"They have Rebekah," Freya replied.

"What? How?"

"They tricked us in the shop and blocked my magic. Only their witch could perform any. I can't find her anymore."

They rushed back to the gym.

"...and the Strix are trying to take that, aren't they?" Hayley was saying.

"No," Elijah replied. "We won't let them."

"Might be harder than you think," Marcel said as they entered.

"Where is Rebekah?" Elijah asked.

"We need to call Klaus," Freya replied.


	7. Out Of The Easy

Morgana was forcing herself to take deep breaths. She, Elijah, Freya, Hayley and Marcel had all gone back to the bell tower to try and locate Rebekah. Not only that, but Grendel still hadn't returned, and it was making her even more anxious.

"So where is Klaus?" Hayley asked.

"When I told him about Rebekah, he said he'd pursue another lead," Freya replied.

"Forget Niklaus," Elijah said. "You will find her."

"Now, you sure you got enough juju for a worldwide locator spell?" Marcel asked.

Freya shot him a look. "She's my family. I won't lose her."

She joined hands with Morgana over the bowl of Elijah's blood and began chanting the spell. Then she poured the blood on the map, and they waited. It spread across the map, but never settled on one place.

"Damn it," Freya cursed.

Morgana ran her hands through her hair.

"So much for witch GPS," Hayley muttered.

Under different circumstances, Morgana would've laughed.

"I assumed they'd cloak her," Freya said. "I didn't expect a spell this strong."

"No doubt conjured by the very witch who lured Rebekah into this trap," Elijah said.

"You should all go. I have my work cut out for me."

"The Strix trust me," Marcel said. "If they know where Rebekah is, I can find her."

"We don't have time," Elijah argued. "You need to stop Davina from activating Lucien and Tristan's weapon."

"We need to find Rebekah."

"Marcel, I will not rest until my sister is found."

Given that Morgana was standing across from Freya, of course she ended up between both men in this instance. She could feel the testosterone surging.

"All right, fine," Marcel grumbled. "I'll handle Davina."

He left.

"Well, in the meantime, please tell me we're gonna kill someone," Hayley said.

"Oh, we will kill many someones," Elijah assured her. "But first, if we are to start a war, let us determine where our allegiances lie."

They left. Morgana turned to Freya. "I'm gonna get some things from my apartment."

When she returned with said things--spellbooks and binders full of various spells that belonged to no book in particular--they spent nearly the entire day searching for and trying different ways to find Rebekah.

Marcel decided to pop by. "Anything?"

"I can't find the continent she's on, let alone the city," Freya replied, slamming a book on the table.

"Maybe you just need something of hers, maybe a, a hairbrush, or--"

"Her blood is in my veins," she cut him off. "That should be enough."

After over twenty-four hours, Grendel chose that moment to come racing in. He launched himself at Morgana, who caught him.

"Took you long enough," she muttered. "Anything?"

He looked high-strung. He bowed his head, and she took the cue to place her head on his.

Images flashed by, all from Grendel's height--legs, feet, the occasional face, streets and alleyways, building after building, the light grew darker, the crowds thinned, the light grew bright again and the crowds returned--finally, she saw it. A stylish apartment--a penthouse, probably. Cami was there, looking absolutely frustrated and slightly nervous. Lucien came out of one of the rooms, and Morgana was thrown back in present time.

A murderous rage began bubbling in her chest. Thunder crashed right over their heads, causing Freya and Marcel to look at her. Morgana took a deep breath, and the storm quickly disappeared. Grendel crawled up on her shoulder as she stormed out. Freya followed.

"Where are you going?" Marcel called.

"Torturing's been added to the agenda," Morgana replied.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They stormed into the compound. It was...interesting to see Klaus, Elijah, Lucien, Tristan and who Morgana assumed was Aurora all gathered around a dining table in the courtyard. Apparently this year's Thanksgiving theme was Feed Your Enemies.

"Hello, loves," Morgana greeted. "Happy Thanksgiving. Who would like to die first?"

Her gaze landed on Lucien. Freya looked to Aurora.

"This is convenient," Freya said. "Given she's the one who has the answers I want."

Aurora stood. "Oh for heaven's sake! Now I have to deal with the long-lost sister and her friend? Nik, please spare me your family's rage and paranoia. It is exactly this kind of lunacy which led me to steal Rebekah in the first place."

"What did you do with her?" Freya growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love," Aurora mocked. "But this prophecy has you all acting as fools, and I've no intention of risking my life to foolishness."

Morgana decided right then and there that she hated Aurora. The moment that girl opened her mouth--no, the moment Morgana laid eyes on her, she hated her.

"Now, I can't trust Rebekah with any of you, and I certainly can't trust the silly dear to endure on her own, so I decided to put her some place safe. Imagine a spot where no harm could come to her, where, in fact, no one could possibly even track her down. Yes, rest assured Rebekah is perfectly fine. At the bottom of the ocean."

Elijah started. Thunder cracked in the distance and a gust of wind blew through courtesy of Morgana. Her fingers twitched as the tips burned. She wanted nothing more than to burn Aurora alive for all to see.

"You're bluffing," Klaus growled. "Tell me you're bluffing."

"You should all be thanking me!" Aurora insisted. "Rebekah's never been safer! There's all the little crabs and--"

Klaus slammed his hands on the table as he stood. Tristan vamp sped over to Freya with a knife to her throat.

"Harm my sister, and I'll be forced to return the favor," he threatened.

Elijah vamp sped over to him and pulled him off Freya. He disarmed him and slammed him against the wall.

"Oh, this all escalated very quickly," Lucien said.

Morgana used her magic and Air to throw him across the room. He slammed against the wall, but before he could fall to the ground she pulled him back and threw him on the ground.

"Shut up Lucien," Klaus snapped. "Or I'll tear your tongue from your head."

"Be careful with your threats, Nik," Lucien panted. He pushed himself off the ground and fixed his jacket. "Anything should happen to me, I won't be able to protect your precious Cami."

"Okay, that is the second time I've heard her name," Aurora interrupted. "Just who is this Cami?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you've got bigger things to worry about," Morgana cooed.

She held out her hand and snapped Aurora's neck.

"Morgana!" Klaus scolded.

"Niklaus!" She mocked.

Elijah forced Tristan back to the table and sat him down. "Which of these two vulgar parasites would you first like to torture?"

Morgana forced Lucien to sit as well. Klaus walked up behind him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Well, it's half a dozen of one and six of the other, isn't it?" Klaus replied. "Why don't you take the stable boy? Tristan and I are long overdue for a good catch up. Oh, and if anything happens to Camille," he added to Lucien.

"Oh, I'm quite certain Lucien's aware," Elijah said. "Devastating error."

Morgana lit the cuffs of Lucien's sleeves on fire. Her gaze turned to Freya, who was looking at Aurora.

This was going to be fun.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana smiled to herself as Aurora finally woke.

"Took you long enough," Freya said.

"Oh, are we to play a fun game?" Aurora asked.

"Actually, yes," Freya confirmed. She held up the smudge-stick she'd been using. "And now that my spell has made it so that no one can hear what happens..."

Hayley entered the room. "We're gonna have a lot of fun."

Aurora gaped up at her. "Hayley. The mother of Niklaus' child. Oh, I was really hoping I'd get to meet you."

"Feeling's not mutual," Hayley replied.

"Oh. Okay. Then what, pray tell, are we doing here?"

"Simple, really," Morgana said. "You, darling, are going to tell us where to find Rebekah, or we're going to make your death more painful than the imagination can conjure up."

Aurora laughed as she stood. Morgana smiled at her. Hayley punched her, making her stumble backwards and double over.

"I'm gonna ask you again," Hayley said. "Where is Rebekah?"

Aurora wiped the blood off her nose. "You're quite strong. For an infant."

Freya held her hand up at Aurora. Aurora grabbed her head and yelled in pain. Freya made a fist, and Aurora yelled again. She ran at Freya and shoved her into the wall. Morgana threw a fireball at her, but she dodged at the last second. Aurora backhanded Hayley and managed to block every single one of her punches and kicks. She twisted Hayley's arm and kicked her in the stomach before shoving her into the wall. Morgana held her hand up and cast a pain infliction spell and added a lovely burning sensation to it with Fire. Aurora grabbed her head again and bent over, yelping.

She straightened, giggling. "Whoo! That actually hurt! I haven't felt pain since the 1700s, kind of tickles."

Morgana gave a little bow and smiled. Aurora's smile hardened.

"And for that," she said, "I'm gonna make you suffer."

She lunged for them, but Hayley caught her by her hair and yanked her head back.

"How about a werewolf bite, you psychotic little bitch?" Hayley suggested, her hybrid face coming out.

"By all means," Aurora replied. "If only I can laugh in your face when Nik heals me."

Morgana sneered at her. Hayley kneed her in the stomach and shoved back against the wall.

"Maybe Klaus would heal you," Freya conceded. "But I doubt he would heal your brother." She looked at Hayley. "Maybe you should bite him instead."

"No one should dare harm my brother," Aurora snapped. "Seeing as you're all going to need him if you want your precious Rebekah back."

Grendel hissed as the others glared at her. She began circling them as she spoke.

"You see, while I did ensure that Rebekah was dropped in the ocean, I don't know precisely where. I had some old friends do it for me, and then I killed them. I then procured the exact location in two sealed envelopes. I have the latitude, and Tristan got the longitude. X marks the spot!"

She stopped in front of them. "So tell me, girls--who has the advantage now?"

Freya rolled her eyes. Hayley glared murderously at Aurora. Morgana stuck her middle finger out at Aurora and sent a stream of fire at her. Aurora glared at her as she dodged.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Everyone had gone back downstairs to the courtyard. Morgana was sat at the bar, Hayley had left, and everyone else was gathered around the table.

Lucien carried his drink back to the table. "Longitude and latitude. Lovely."

"Well, despite our differences, I believe great strides were made today," Tristan said.

Aurora smiled at him. They clicked their glasses together.

"Tristan, I can't murder you at this very moment, but I could just as easily tear those eyeballs from your skull and feed them to your sister," Elijah replied.

"Elijah," Klaus scolded. "These are our guests."

"Nik, it's so sweet of you to defend us," Aurora said.

Morgana took a large sip of her bourbon to get rid of the bitter taste the sound of Aurora's voice left in her mouth.

Klaus stood. "You know, I doubted my brother's wisdom in bringing us all together today, but he was right. We must confront the harsh realities we all face, and make difficult choices to ensure our collective survival."

He raised his glass for a toast. Everyone but Morgana and Elijah joined. Klaus set his glass back down and walked around the table to Elijah.

"And I have every confidence that my choice will be the right one," he finished.

Morgana recognized the look he was giving Tristan. She set her glass down and stood, preparing for whatever the hell was about to go down.

Klaus vamp sped over to Tristan and snapped his neck. Aurora shot up from her seat, knocking the chair back, and gasped. Morgana whistled lowly, and the others quickly stood and backed away.

"Were you anyone else, the servants would already be mopping your blood from the floor," Klaus said. "If you do not bring my sister home, Tristan will die slowly and in tremendous pain."

"You betray me?" Aurora yelled. "After all your promises of love?"

Morgana's eyebrows went up of their own accord. She hadn't realized Klaus and Aurora were a thing. Judging by what just happened, though, that was over now.

"I meant to keep those promises!" Klaus replied. "It was you who shattered them when you took Rebekah!"

He got in her face. "Now I have your brother. A sibling for a sibling. I want Rebekah back."

"You will regret this," Aurora hissed.

She spun on her heel and stormed out, shoving the table as she went.

"After everything today you just let her go?" Freya demanded incredulously.

"Aurora should be easy enough to control," Elijah assured her. "We have Tristan now."

"Never underestimate an enraged, scorned lover," Morgana warned.

Elijah looked over at her questioningly.

"Later."

"Lucien," Klaus growled. "You will take me to Camille, and you will surrender the medallion, or you will meet an end so cruel, the devil will keep."

Lucien swallowed, visibly terrified. He glanced over his shoulder at Morgana. She smiled menacingly at him.

She went with him and Klaus to his penthouse. A vampire was there, but Cami wasn't. Klaus decided to take his frustration out on the vampire. Morgana and Lucien watched. She glanced around every few seconds, noting how this was the place Grendel had found Cami in.

" _Where is she?!_ " Klaus demanded, knocking the vampire on the floor.

"She took my daylight ring and ran," the vampire replied.

Klaus smashed a painting on the wall. He picked up a piece of the shattered wood left behind and staked the vampire. He and Morgana rounded on Lucien.

"This is your fault," Klaus growled.

Lucien nervously backed up as they advanced on him. "Well, to be fair, if Cami had done as she was told, she'd still be here, so technically it's her fault."

Morgana held her hand out, palm facing up, and made a fist. Lucien grabbed at his throat as the air left his body.

"If you hadn't taken her, she wouldn't have been stuck here and thus fled," she said darkly.

She squeezed tighter.

"Morgana," Klaus whispered.

She ignored him.

" _Morgana_ , love, let him go."

"He's been nothing but a problem since he came to town," she hissed. "Give me one good reason not to end him right here, right now, and put us all out of our misery."

Morgana saw Lucien struggling to breathe, choking and gasping for air, helpless under her power. She had full control of his life right in this moment, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. She could kill him if she so chose. And she was enjoying it. She was relishing it.

"Because you're better than that," Klaus whispered in her ear.

She hadn't realized he'd put his hand over her fist. She hadn't realized Grendel was digging his claws into her shoulder. Her gaze flickered between theirs. Klaus was concerned. Grendel was almost incredulous. Her gaze finally landed on Lucien. With a frustrated growl, Morgana released him and dropped her hand, shaking off Klaus in the process.

She stormed out of the penthouse, ignoring Klaus' calls. She was going to find Cami.


	8. The Other Girl in New Orleans

Morgana rolled over in bed, wide awake and watching sunlight trickle through the gaps in the curtain. Grendel was curled up on the pillow next to her, asleep.

She almost lost control of herself last night. She almost killed Lucien. If Klaus hadn't stopped her, there was no doubt in her mind that she would've ripped his heart out.

Lucien wasn't someone she cared for. He could rot, as far as she was concerned. So why did she feel so guilty about it?

 _Because you saw the looks on their faces_ , the treacherous, all-knowing voice in the back of her head whispered.

Yes, Klaus had been concerned, Grendel incredulous. Lucien, well, he’d been a little preoccupied at the moment. But there was a lingering fear in their eyes. They were afraid of what she was going to do.

Morgana was scared too. She hadn't let herself get that close to doing something so, so...drastic in years, decades even.

She didn't want Grendel to be afraid of her. Of course, she knew he wasn't, never would be. She didn't want Klaus to be afraid of her, either. Lucien, on the other hand...

He was too cocky for his own good. She didn't mind if he was afraid of her, even a little. In fact, she welcomed that. Let him be afraid of her.

Morgana consoled herself with the fact that she had reminded them (and herself) of what she was capable of. Push her enough, and she will push back.

And whoever pushed better pray for mercy.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Of course, she managed to run into Klaus on her way to the compound.

"Please tell me you're on your way to get Cami," she said.

"I have a lead," he replied.

She raised her eyebrows.

"I will find her, Morgana," he insisted. "Trust me."

She frowned. "I don't doubt you'll find Cami, Niklaus. But don't ask me to trust you."

She pushed past him. If he didn't find Cami by the end of the day, then she would pull out all the stops, consequences be damned.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Given the right circumstances, Morgana could be fond of torture. Said circumstances included, but were not limited to: Tristan, unconscious, bound to a chair, inside a boundary circle.

"The spell is complete," Freya said. "Tristan cannot cross the boundary of his own will, but we can enter and leave as we please."

Elijah crouched down in front of Tristan.

"I went ahead and injected him with hibiscus and mugwort to counteract any vervain in his system," Morgana added. "You can compel him to give the longitude."

He rose. "He says he's immune."

"Then I'll find some other way to make him talk," Freya replied, walking over to a small table. She picked up a dagger with a wavy blade.

"Will you?" Elijah asked.

He held his hand out. She sighed before giving him the dagger.

"You're still upset I tortured Aurora without your permission," she said.

"Oh, Freya, I'm obscenely fond of torture," he replied. "But yes, when I'm entertaining I like to be the one to choose precisely when and how we violate the guests."

Morgana winced. "Don't use the word 'violate' in that context, please, that just sounds wrong." She crossed her arms. "How do you suggest we proceed, then?"

"Devastate his body, infiltrate the mind, and steal the information we need. To that end, I've invited a friend."

They turned to see Hayley walk in, as if on cue, carrying Hope.

"Elijah, I got your text," she greeted.

"Unless she's violently teething, I don't recommend this as a daycare," Elijah replied.

"Jack's gone, and I don't know if he's coming back. I also really don't wanna talk about it. So, which one of you will take Hope while I take my anger out on this pompous dick?"

Elijah looked to Freya and Morgana. Freya went over and took Hope. "Come here, baby girl."

She and Morgana went to Hayley's apartment and laid Hope down for a nap.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A door opening jostled Morgana's mind back to the present. She turned and saw Mary taking off her jacket.

"Hi," Morgana greeted.

Mary nodded at her and turned her attention to Freya, who had turned around when Morgana spoke.

"You must be the sister," Mary said. "Freya?"

"And who are you?" Freya asked.

"Name's Mary. I'm a Crescent. Closest thing your niece has to a great-grandmother. Figure she's napping?"

"That's right."

"And Hayley?"

"She's across the street helping with a family matter."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Was that Elijah's idea?"

Freya gave her a look before going to a different room. Morgana couldn't help but feel a little awkward. After a minute, she came back.

"Hayley is coming back here," she said.

"Trading places?" Morgana asked.

Freya nodded. They headed for the exit.

"Nice to see you again, Mary," Morgana said.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They stopped the spell they were performing on Tristan.

"If we go any further, he'll die," Morgana said.

"Weak as I am, you still won't take what you seek from me," Tristan insisted.

Elijah sighed. "It's an unpleasant thing, delving into such a depraved and repellent mind." He kicked Tristan's foot. "Tristan, unless you'd like me to fetch the chainsaw, I recommend you give me what I seek."

He put his hand on Tristan's head and entered his mind. A moment later, Elijah pulled away.

"What did you see?" Freya asked.

"Just flashes," he replied. "He's resisting, but still, there's something there."

He grabbed Tristan's face. "What was it, Tristan? What is Cepheus?"

"What next, charades?" Marcel asked from behind them. They turned to him.

"While you guys host the world's most messed-up game night, you got bigger problems."

"Freya, would you mind dealing with this situation, please?" Elijah asked.

"Oh, no offense to your lovely sister, but you and I need to talk," Marcel replied. "I'm here on behalf of the Strix, and I'm not leaving without Tristan."

Morgana gaped at him. Tristan laughed weakly behind them.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tristan screamed in pain as Morgana burned him. She smiled coldly.

Grendel suddenly growled and hissed at something behind her. She and Freya turned to see a man in the doorway. Freya made a fist and jerked her arm down. He grabbed his and yelled in pain, falling to his knees.

Someone else appeared in the room. Before Morgana could do anything, her neck was snapped.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana leaned back on the couch, wishing she had an ice pack. She might be alive, but getting her neck broken still hurt. Vampires didn't have to worry about lingering soreness afterwards because of their healing abilities. She did.

The Strix had come and taken Tristan. Marcel was, apparently, playing the part of double agent, pretending to be part of the Strix while still being on the Mikaelsons' side. Regardless of Marcel's involvement in tonight's attack, Morgana supposed that it was inevitable either way that the Strix would come.

"This stake is imbued with dark magic," Freya said, examining a stake Marcel had left behind.

She looked up at Elijah. "It's strong enough to take down even you."

"So apparently the Strix have no shortage of weapons," he replied.

"Well, at least they don't have Marcel," Hayley said.

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Look, I know he attacked you, but he could've used that thing on you, and he didn't. And, for what it's worth, he did save me."

"And healed me," Freya added. "A few minutes more and I would have been dead."

Elijah looked at Morgana.

"My neck was broken," she said, shrugging. "He knew I would wake up, there was nothing he could do for me."

"Do I need to you remind you that because of your beloved hero, Tristan is free, Rebekah is lost..." He trailed off, staring at the portraits.

"This prophecy threatens to devour us still," he finally said.

How ominous.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"That'll stay cold for as long as you need it to," Morgana said, handing Cami a towel filled with ice. "Or until the candle goes out."

Cami pressed the towel to her head. "Thanks."

"Heat might feel better later on, so feel free to text me and I'll light a Fire candle for you."

"You know, you're like the mom friend."

"Surprisingly enough, you're not the first person to tell me that."

They shared a smile. Grendel bumped his head against Morgana's arm and crawled up to her shoulder. She glanced over to the doorway on the right before turning back to Cami.

"You gonna be okay here?" She asked.

"Yeah," Cami replied.

Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"I will, Morgana, I promise. Go home and sleep."

She took a deep breath and smiled a little. "Okay, okay, if you insist. Night."

"Night."

She stood and walked around the couch to the other exit. She didn't feel like talking to Klaus right now. He'd say something along the lines of "told you I would do it", and she didn't want to admit to him that she had trusted him to do it.

Morgana didn't want to let him know she trusted him at all. Let him squirm a little. It was good for Klaus to know she wasn't always going to forgive and forget so easily.


	9. Savior

One moment Morgana was with Freya in an alley, the next she was waking up on a sofa in the compound. When would people stop snapping her neck?

She rubbed her neck as she sat up. Grendel bumped his head against her leg. She scratched under his chin and looked around. Freya was unconscious on the sofa across from her, one of her arms bound in a makeshift sling. Jackson was standing on her right, stunned.

"How are you alive?" He asked. "Your neck was broken."

"Trust me, I know," Morgana replied, wincing. "I can't die. Long story."

Hayley rushed in. "I got your text, what happened?"

She sat next to Freya.

"We were jumped," Morgana explained. "About three vampires, possibly two or four."

"All dressed like yuppies," Jackson added.

"The Strix?" Hayley sighed.

He nodded. "Yeah. She needs your blood."

Hayley bit her wrist and held it up to Freya, who drank it. When she stopped, she sighed and took off the sling.

"You okay?" Hayley asked.

Freya nodded. Hayley glanced at Morgana, eyebrow raised, and Morgana nodded as well. Hayley looked at Jackson.

"Kind of hard to ignore it when someone needs your help, huh," she said.

Jackson made a face. Freya sat forward, her expression morphing into panic.

"They took it," she said. "The Serratura. We were meeting with a witch from the bloodline who built the lock. I was hoping she could help us destroy it, but it's not possible. She said the only to get rid of it is to use it. We have to get it back and lock something else away, anything but my family."

"Great," Hayley replied. "Why don't we pay Tristan a visit and ask him really, really nicely?"

"Sounds like fun," Morgana said.

"I'm afraid we have a far more urgent problem," Elijah interrupted, entering from behind Freya and Hayley.

Rebekah followed and smiled at them. "Well, to be fair, I am the prettiest urgent problem you have ever seen."

Morgana shot up and tackled her in a hug.

"You and your disappearing acts will be the death of us, you know that?" She said when she pulled away. Then she noticed something on Rebekah's wrist.

" _Shit_ , Bekah, what the _hell_ is that?"

Rebekah sat next to Freya, and the rest of them gathered around them. Grendel hopped on Morgana's shoulder. Elijah handed Freya a black dagger with skulls on the handle. Morgana looked at it over Freya's shoulder. There were symbols carved into the blade. The skulls matched the mark on Rebekah's wrist.

"Give me the bad news, doc," Rebekah sighed.

"It was cursed," Morgana said. "Once you were staked, you were infected. The mark will continue to grow, and you will go mad."

"Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable Ripper," Freya added.

"Aya always was thorough," Rebekah said.

"The Strix always employ a safeguard," Elijah said. "In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt."

He turned to Freya and Morgana. "Can you fix it?"

"The spell is carved here," Freya replied. "I can...I can reverse it."

She stood. "I just need some time. And a _hell_ of a lot of magic."

Suddenly she collapsed. Elijah caught her and gently set her down on the couch. Morgana went around to the front of the couch.

"She was fine," Jackson said. "Hayley healed her."

Morgana noticed something on Freya's neck. She moved her hair away and blanched. A puncture wound was open and bleeding. Grendel whimpered.

"That is most definitely not healed," she said. "It's poison."

"This is an assassination attempt," Elijah announced.

Freya began waking up.

"She's waking up," Hayley said.

Elijah held his hand out to Freya. She took it and squeezed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I feel weak," she muttered.

"Those vampires must have stabbed her with something," Jackson said.

"The Strix are fond of this slow-acting poison," Elijah said after a moment. "There's an antidote...if I can get my hands on it."

He pulled out his phone and left. Freya took Rebekah's wrist.

"For this I'll need a pure silver knife, some white muskroot," she said.

Hayley turned to Jackson. "I'll get the knife."

"I'll track down the root," Jackson said.

She turned back to Freya. "Freya, you can barely float a feather right now, let alone save the world."

Freya shook her head. "I'll channel Finn."

"Oh, lovely!" Rebekah scoffed. "My fate rests in the hands of our black sheep of a brother that we have trapped in a necklace. I'm sure he's just _leaping_ to help."

"Well, he's the only other powerful witch here, and you and I are out of options, sister."

Morgana waved her hand. "Right here, guys. If you lot think I'm sitting this one out you have another thing coming."

She followed Freya upstairs, exchanging worried looks with Hayley and Rebekah.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana didn't join Freya on the spell. If they were asking for Finn's help, she knew she should be the last person to ask. He'd never help her.

So she settled on using her magic and the elements to try and keep Freya stable.

Suddenly something forced her connection to break. She gasped and immediately looked at Freya. Blood was dripping from her eyes. Morgana rushed over to her and grabbed her shoulder.

"Freya, you need to stop," she pleaded. "Let me do it."

Freya shook her head.

Morgana groaned and ran out of the room and leaned over the railing. She spotted Elijah pacing in front of the Christmas tree.

" _Elijah!_ " She shouted. "I need help, she won't stop or listen to me!"

They rushed back into the room. Freya was shaking now, _hard_.

"Freya, stop, please!" Elijah begged. He reached out to touch her shoulder.

Freya shook her head. "No! Don't touch me! Do _not_ stop me!"

"Listen to me: we must help Rebekah, but we must not lose you in the process!"

He took off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves.

"Help me, or get out!"

He bit into his wrist and kneeled next to her. "This will strengthen you."

Freya hesitated before drinking. She pulled away, and only a few moments later vomited it back up.

"I can't do it," she said. "I can't focus."

Jackson rushed into the room as Elijah stood and put his jacket back on. Morgana kneeled next to Freya. Jackson placed the back of his hand against Freya's forehead.

"She's burning up," he said. "I guess a hospital's out of the question?"

"A hospital won't help her," Elijah replied.

A crash from outside made all of them, except Freya, jump and look at each other.

"Where's Hayley?" Jackson asked.

Freya vomited more blood. Elijah looked at Jackson as Morgana stood.

"You stay with her, please?" Elijah asked.

Jackson nodded. Elijah and Morgana rushed out to the courtyard. Hayley and Rebekah were fighting. Rebekah's eyes had gone completely black. Elijah grabbed her. Morgana stepped next to Hayley. Grendel jumped off her shoulder and fluffed his fur out.

"Listen to me," Elijah said. "Listen to me! Rebekah, look at me! Look at me! _Control yourself._ "

"Dear brother," Rebekah drawled. "I have control."

Morgana narrowed her eyes. Grendel growled.

Rebekah hit Elijah under his chin and broke his neck. As he dropped to the floor, Hayley rushed at her. Rebekah punched her heart through Hayley's chest.

" _Rebekah, no!_ " Morgana shouted.

She rushed at her, but Rebekah backhanded her across the face. Morgana stumbled back, but didn't fall.

"Rebekah!" Klaus shouted.

He grabbed Rebekah's arm. "Not her."

Morgana moved closer to Cami, who'd arrived with Klaus, and Hayley. Rebekah lunged for Cami.

"Not her either," Klaus said.

He forced her back and threw her on to the dining table, smashing everything on it. Cami handed a black briefcase to Hayley, who took it and rushed upstairs.

"Dear, sweet Cami," Rebekah hissed. "You're so afraid you'll ruin her."

She lifted herself off the table, though Klaus still held on to her. "You keep her behind glass like some broken object. She's not precious, Nik. And neither is Morgana, with her holier-than-thou attitude and supposedly sound moral compass. Not much longer till she breaks and lets out all of her animosity towards us. Every woman you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison."

Morgana swallowed hard and glanced at Cami. She looked horrified.

"There's no telling what she'll do in this state, go, before she breaks free," Morgana whispered.

Cami nodded and ran out of the courtyard. Rebekah laughed.

"She'll grow toxic too," Rebekah finished.

She shoved Klaus away from her, forcing him to let go. Elijah stood, and he and Morgana flanked Klaus. Rebekah lunged at them again, but the boys grabbed her arms and forced her back down on to table.

"Hold her!" Freya ordered. She was holding a silver knife.

Grendel jumped on Morgana's shoulder as she grabbed Freya's free hand. She held Rebekah's wrist with her free hand and joined Freya's chanting. Freya cut off the mark on Rebekah's wrist. As soon as it was gone, Rebekah passed out. They let go of her and stepped back.

After a moment, she woke back up and sat up. Morgana held her breath.

"Well that was annoying," Rebekah said.

Morgana let out the breath and laughed. Rebekah smiled at them.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana had forgotten just how _big_ the Mikaelsons' Christmas trees could be. She smiled to herself, recalling the first time she'd spent Christmas with them.

Sometimes she _really_ wished she could go back in time and relive those moments.

Cami handed her a glass of wine. Morgana smiled. Cami's gaze went above her. Morgana turned, and her smile grew even bigger at the sight of Hayley, Hope and Jackson coming down the stairs.

When they reached the stairs, Elijah kissed Hope on the head. "Merry Christmas, little one."

Klaus handed Jackson a glass of wine. "Thank you for helping Freya. Unfortunately, we're all out of mason jar moonshine."

Morgana snorted.

"Well Nik, you are positively merry tonight," Rebekah said. "All that therapy must be paying off."

Klaus' face dropped. "Oh no."

Morgana noticed a flaming metal bowl behind Rebekah and chuckled quietly to herself.

"Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire," Rebekah admitted. "But I improvised."

When Klaus didn't respond, Rebekah scoffed. "Come on, it's tradition!"

"Tradition?" Cami asked.

Klaus sighed. "We write our wishes and burn them for luck. Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year and year..."

"How odd," Elijah said. "Forever on Santa's naughty list."

Morgana laughed.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After the wishes were burned and the gifts exchanged, they were all lounging around, enjoying what was left of the holiday. Morgana couldn't help but notice Klaus and Cami sharing some specific glances.

The slight sting in her chest made Morgana look away quickly every time. So it hurt a little. Not that it should. Klaus wasn't hers anymore, hadn't been for a long time, no matter how much she wanted him back. So it shouldn't hurt...right?

Regardless of her feelings, Morgana _knew_ that there was no one else on this planet she would rather see him with than Cami.

Definitely not Aurora.

Rebekah entered the room, bringing Morgana out of her thoughts. She had a suitcase with her.

"Oh, Rebekah, so soon?" Freya sighed.

She stood and hugged her.

"Take care of our brothers, Freya," Rebekah replied. "God knows they need it."

She pulled away and turned to Elijah, kissing him on the cheek. She said goodbye to Hope as well, and Hayley. Then she turned to Morgana.

"Please don't get kidnapped again," Morgana said.

Rebekah laughed and hugged her. "Well, I can't make any promises."

Morgana smiled.

When Klaus walked in, Rebekah said goodbye to him as well. Then she left. Morgana couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of dread down in her stomach, like something bad was going to happen.


	10. A Ghost Along The Mississippi

Morgana was convinced she was going to vomit when Elijah had called her. The day after Christmas, and yet all hell just _had_ to break loose again.

Cami was in transition. Apparently Aurora had compelled her to drink her blood and then kill herself. Distraught didn't even _begin_ to cover how she was doing.

Aurora was going to die, and Morgana was going to be the one to do it.

She'd agreed to meet him at the cemetery. Vincent was regent now, and thus had enough power to activate the Serratura. Freya's pendant had gone missing, the one with Finn inside. Elijah's theory was that Tristan had stolen the pendant and would threaten Vincent with it, if he hadn't already.

When Morgana and Grendel arrived at the cemetery, there was a couple dead bodies, Vincent was on the ground, and Elijah was holding the pendant.

"Damn, I missed the action," she sighed, and waved at Vincent.

She walked over to them.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you, man," Vincent said. "You want your big bad Serratura, you're gonna have to go after Tristan because he took it with him after he forced me to activate it."

"So deactivate it," Elijah ordered.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. And just for the record," Vincent added, "I'm done with vampire demands for the day. Push me and see what happens."

"You don't want to see what happens. My family's in jeopardy, and you're responsible."

"That's on you, man! If Tristan didn't have the pendant, then he wouldn't have any leverage over me."

Elijah held up the pendant.

Morgana held her hands up. "Okay, okay, let's all take a damn breath and remind ourselves who the real enemy is please. Elijah, put that thing down. No one is threatening anyone, no one is using that pendant on Vincent. We're all adults here, let's at least _attempt_ to be civilized."

There was a pause. Elijah finally lowered the pendant.

"Thank you," she said. "Now, if Vincent doesn't want to help, no one's gonna force him to."

Elijah opened his mouth.

" _Because_ you have me," she finished, raising her voice. "End of discussion."  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Vincent didn't go back to the compound with them. Probably for the best, given the circumstances.

Grendel tensed and jumped off Morgana's shoulder as soon as they entered the courtyard. He went straight to Freya, who was standing in front of a table clutching a note in one hand and her chest in the other. On the table was a small box.

"What happened?" Morgana asked.

"A messenger came," Freya replied. Her voice was slightly hoarse. "Some compelled tourist. He left this."

Morgana and Elijah approached the table. Freya's face was tearstained. Grendel licked her hand. Elijah opened the box. A heart was laying inside. He immediately closed it. Morgana covered her mouth.

"Oh," she breathed. "Oh no. Who's heart is that?"

"Jackson," Freya whispered.

"Oh, _shit_. Damn it, damn it, damn it."

Morgana couldn't help the handful of tears that dripped from her eyes. Jackson was a good man. He shouldn't have died, not like this.

"Courtesy of the Strix," Freya added.

She handed Elijah the note and sat down. After he read it, he handed it to Morgana.

_Dearest friends,_

_Please find enclosed the heart of Jackson. Hayley's will follow unless you meet me at Coltrane's Auto Shop, 1268 Adderly in the ninth._

_Kind regards,_

_Tristan_

"So unless we meet their demands, Hayley will be next," Elijah said.

Morgana growled and crumbled the note. She threw it in the air and set it on fire. It burned to ash before it landed.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Two Original vampires and two powerful witches against an army of miscreants?" Klaus said. "I'm rather looking forward to it."

He'd been brought up to speed after the initial shock had worn off. Cami was in another room.

"Before we rush into battle, let's keep in mind that Tristan may be the very foe to lead you to your doom," Freya reminded them. "Isn't this exactly what the prophecy foretold? Rebekah's on the run, I will not lose the two of you as well."

"Rebekah is safe," Elijah assured her. "Brother, perhaps you should stay."

"And what kind of father would I be if I didn't fight for the mother of my child?" Klaus scoffed. "No, I have no intention of being outmaneuvered by Tristan de Martel of all people."

"And as long as he has Hayley and the Serratura, Tristan is the one with the advantage," Morgana said.

"Well, then we should take that advantage from him," Freya replied.

She smirked. "I'm gonna need something that belonged to his sister."  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Everyone always says never to stand in the middle of the road. Oncoming traffic won't stop for you. Well, today, that lone black SUV would be stopping for Morgana.

She opened her arms and called on the elements. "Sispann la agresè."

The SUV picked up speed. Morgana twisted her wrists, and it went flying, flipping upside down and crashing. It stopped right in front of her.

Two vampires pulled themselves out. As soon as they saw Morgana they began stalking toward her. She held her hands out, and they froze. Their hearts flew out of their chests and into her hands. She dropped them at the same time the bodies dropped. Elijah appeared behind them and handed her a handkerchief.

Talk about stress relief.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
She was supposed to be heading to the Bell tower to meet Freya, but Morgana stopped by the compound on the way to see Cami.

Cami was sitting on a couch in one of the rooms. Surrounding the couch was a salt circle.

"Trapped you in a boundary spell, did they?" Morgana asked.

"Apparently I'm not allowed to make my own choices," Cami replied, annoyed.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you. That you didn't have a choice."

"You say that with the look of someone speaking from experience."

Morgana gave a tight smile. "When I was 20, the Carters were being hunted, picked off one by one. My mother put an immortality spell on me without me knowing about it."

"How did you find out?"

"When I woke up gasping for air after being strangled."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Not really something I recommend. My point is, I didn't have a choice over my own death. And as much as I don't want you to die, Cami, you have the right to make that decision yourself."

Morgana waved her hand, and the circle broke. Cami stood and stepped out.

"Thank you," she said. "All things considered, that's the nicest thing anyone's done for me all day."

"I do have one question," Morgana replied. "How do you feel about payback?"  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana set the match down. All the candles were lit, the blood was in the bowl, the puppet was made. Everything was ready.

"You think this'll work?" She asked.

"You're a powerful elemental witch," Freya replied. "I can channel you, add your power to mine, and then we'll see."

Morgana nodded and took a deep breath. She took Freya's right hand and held hers up, palm facing up. Freya grabbed the puppet with her free hand.

"Kache l'nan san. Jen chèch je yo."

Freya dipped the puppet's legs into the blood. Morgana felt the spell take hold.

"Kache l'nan san. Jen chèch je yo."

Something shifted in the spell. Morgana took the piece of blonde hair attached to the puppet and burned it in flame of one of the candles.

"Kache l'nan san. Jen chèch je yo."

And then it was over. The spell had worked. They'd done their job. Now it was up to the others to finish theirs.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Of all the places to have a conversation, why does it have to be the cemetery?" Morgana sighed.

Cami had texted her and Vincent, asking them to come to the cemetery. Tristan was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, trapped inside the boundaries of the Serratura. Aurora was still being held in the compound until further notice. But most importantly, Hayley was back.

Night had fallen, giving the cemetery an eerily calm feeling.

"Hilarious," Cami replied. "A dead girl leaving soon-to-be dead flowers at her dead brother's grave. It's just another pointless ritual in life."

"I know what you're going through," Vincent said.

Cami looked at him, and he shifted.

"You know, as pointless as you think your life is right now, there are people out there right now--Davina, Kinney, hell, even Klaus--who know better," Morgana said.

"Well, you don't need to give a speech," Cami replied. Her eyes filled with tears. "I called you both here because you've been friends. And I figured you wouldn't be judgy no matter what I choose."

"God knows I don’t have the right," Morgana said.

"I'm the last person to be judgy," Vincent agreed. "My life is messed up as it is. But, uh, I will say this: as crazy as this world is with the monsters and the lunatics running around, it's still a better place with you in it."

Morgana swiped at her eyes and sniffed.

"You know, I did something today," Cami said. "I risked my life fighting one of those monsters. It felt _good_."

Morgana gave a small smile. Vincent chuckled. "Yeah, I know that feeling. It's amazing what happens when you stop fighting what you are."

"My uncle was really big into doing the right thing," Cami said. "Wanted to help people, fix the city."

She took a deep breath. "Maybe...if I stuck around, I could continue what he did. If I was a vampire, I would have the strength to make a difference. Of course, I would have to feed."

Morgana's eyes widened. Vincent took a pocket knife out and cut his wrist.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

Cami shook her head as she took his wrist. "Not in the slightest."

But she drank, and transitioned into a vampire.


	11. Wild At Heart

Morgana usually wasn't the biggest fan of most witches. They weren't usually fond of her either. Of course, there were exceptions--Sophie, Freya, Davina, Vincent, and a handful of others.

She was shopping at the market in Jackson Square. Window shopping, really. She had better ways of getting her supplies, but occasionally these markets had a few random things that could come in handy in the future.

"Hi, do you have any angelica flower?"

Morgana glanced to her left and saw Davina. The witch running the stall ignored her.

"Okay, I know I've been shunned, but you can at least look at me," Davina said.

When the witch continued to ignore her, Davina quickly left the stall. Morgana glanced over her shoulder and approached the stall.

"Hey, I'm looking for some angelica, I don't suppose you got any?" She asked.

The witch ignored her. Morgana called on Air and used it to snatch the pestle out of her hand. Startled, the witch looked up, and Morgana smiled.

"So glad I have your attention. Now, if you have any angelica flower, I'd appreciate it if you could stop being a bitch so we can make this transaction go as quickly and painlessly as possible, alright, hon?"

The flower was in her hand in less than two minutes. Morgana turned around and caught Davina and Josh staring at her. She smiled and waved, walking over to them.

"We should probably get out of here before they call the witch cops on us," she advised. "I just went total bitch mode on her ass."

She handed the flower to Davina. "Here, take this. Turns out I don't need it after all. Good to see you, Josh," she added.

She winked at them and exited the market, leaving Davina and Josh looking a little dumbfounded.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I thought the pale horse might be something Biblical, or even tied to one of the equestrian constellations," Elijah said. "There's Pegasus, perhaps even Equuleus."

He'd called Morgana asking her to come to the compound. Judging by the sounds she heard walking in, it wasn’t going well.

Cami had apparently turned into a bitch now that she'd Turned, Aurora had somehow managed to escape, and there was still the threat against the Mikaelsons, something about a dark shadow and a pale horse.

Klaus sighed. "Neither of those sounds like a weapon, unless they plan to bore us to death. You know, it would be nice if for once the witches bloody well said what they meant."

"But that takes the fun out of it," Morgana replied. "It's most likely a metaphor for something. Probably something hidden yet right in front of you, something you wouldn't think of but becomes obvious once found."

She rubbed her temples and headed for the exit. "I'll do some research, track down a couple sources. I'll let you know if I find anything. I expect you to do the same."  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Problem was word of Morgana's little stunt at the market seemed to have spread. Her sources wouldn't talk to her, no matter how much she bribed and threatened.

So they were being little bitches. Let them. She'd remind them of this when they came to her for favors.

Research only brought up what Elijah had already suggested--Bible verses and constellations--which weren't horrible, but didn't ring quite true.

Morgana was trying to get hold of a source one last time when Klaus texted her. He'd figured it out.

When she got there, he was rummaging through what seemed to be every crevice in the study. Elijah and Hayley were watching.

"All my efforts to protect and provide comfort for my family," Klaus muttered.

"Klaus, you're not making any sense," Elijah replied.

"What is going on?" Morgana demanded. "I thought you figured it out."

"It isn't a constellation, nor is it a Biblical verse," Klaus replied. "It's a--a trinket I made when we were children. A tough carved from kindling which I gave to Rebekah in the hopes of easing her fears."

"I collected the firewood myself," Elijah said. "It was fallen branches from everywhere."

His eyes widened. "The horse was made of white oak. That weapon is here."

They all exchanged looks.

"It's at the apartment," Hayley said.

They rushed across the street and began practically tearing the place apart trying to find the horse. No such luck.

"This doesn't make any sense," Hayley said. "It was here, I saw it!"

"When?" Klaus asked.

"This afternoon, I swear."

He sighed. "Oh, I believe you. We're just here a little too late. There's only one other person capable of deciphering the witch's riddle, the very person with whom I shared my memories of that night. My trusted therapist."

Morgana cursed.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"It doesn't make any sense," Morgana said. "Why would _Cami_ , of all people, steal the horse?"

Grendel meowed.

"She turns into a vampire and then she has a vendetta against the Mikaelsons? If she had to have a vendetta over Turning, shouldn't she go after Aurora?"

He narrowed his eyes. She sighed and flopped face-first on her bed. "I really don't wanna have to fight her."

She rolled over. "So I won't. I will not fight Cami. It will not come to that. I mean, vampire or not, it's still Cami we're talking about...right?"

He blinked at her.

"Right. I suppose now we just have to find out why she took it."

Morgana hit the mattress, making Grendel grumble. "None of this would've happened if it weren't for Aurora. If I ever see that bitch again, I am going to kill her, consequences be damned."


	12. Dead Angels

"Damn it, slow down!" Morgana called.

She had to jog just to keep up with Klaus. They were in the cemetery to give Cami her dark objects--at least, that's what they were supposed to be doing, anyway. That little suitcase he was using was not nearly big enough to hold all of them.

When she turned the corner, Klaus lunged for Vincent. Morgana wasn't terribly worried, though, given the boundary spell put in place.

"I was hoping for a simple trade," Vincent said. "But seeing as how everything you took can't possibly fit in that briefcase, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that simple ain't exactly your style."

"Why don't you take down this barrier," Klaus suggested. "I'll show you precisely what my style entails."

"Klaus, come on," Morgana groaned.

Cami appeared behind Vincent. "Seriously? I have an ancient mystical weapon of doom, and instead of agreeing to my very fair trade, you're making threats."

"There she is," Klaus replied. "Traitor to my family, thief of that which is mine."

Morgana pinched the bridge of her nose. Cami rolled her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic," she scolded. "Like I said, I wanted your attention. And, seeing as you're here, I'd say I got it."

"Yes, a rather effective tactic--one I usually reserve for enemies. And here I thought we were intimates."

"We are. But relationships are built on trust and equality, and we don't have either if you're confiscating my stuff."

"And so your response is to steal what's mine in an attempt to bend my will to yours."

"I just want back what you took." She glanced at the briefcase. "What, that's like a third of them? So would you like a third of the white oak?"

"Are you really gonna do this?"

"Okay, listen," Vincent interrupted. "I'm gonna leave you two love birds alone. But uh, y'all want my advice? Y'all best finish this up before someone finds out what she took."

"Can I please come with you?" Morgana asked.

He nodded, and she stepped over the barrier. She ignored the look Klaus gave her.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"So why are you with Klaus?" Vincent asked.

"Well, I was hoping I could be somewhat of a peacemaker," Morgana sighed. "After all, the sooner this is all finished the sooner we can go back to dealing with the prophecy. Don't think that's gonna work out."

Vincent snorted. "Good luck with that."

She gave a small smile. "Sometimes I just wanna shake them, you know? I can't help but wonder how it's possible they're adults when they act like children most of the time. Reminds me of my nieces and nephews."

He raised an eyebrow. "You had nieces and nephews?"

"I had five older siblings who managed to find their soulmates and have children, yes. That so hard to believe?"

"Sometimes I forget how old you are."

"You'd be surprised how often I get that."

"So you were the youngest?"

She leaned back against the wall. "No, I was in the middle. Three other siblings after me. It was a loud house. We were constantly going at each other, the way siblings do, and sometimes the only way to shut the other up was to give them what they wanted."

An idea struck Morgana, and she narrowed her eyes.

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

"The only reason Cami took that horse is because she wants her things back," she replied. "My guess is she doesn't want to feel powerless anymore. So I'm gonna give her what she wants, and if Klaus doesn’t like it, he can kiss my ass."

She pushed off the wall. Grendel, who'd been stalking leaves the whole time, jumped on her shoulder. "Back in a bit."  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Beat me to it, have you?"

Morgana glanced over her shoulder at Klaus. "Assuming you've come to help me gather up these damn things, then yes."

"I didn't think you'd be this eager to hand them over."

"Well, I can't say I really want to, but if it helps Cami feel in control of her life again, then--damn, Klaus, be a little louder!"

He was throwing things in the duffle bag so hard Morgana was surprised they weren't breaking. Judging by the sounds, though, some things might be a little cracked.

She froze. Something didn't feel right. Klaus seemed to notice it too. They looked toward the balcony, but no one was there.

"I'll be right back," Morgana whispered.

She left the study, Grendel right behind her, and pulled some candles from their hiding place. She lit them and called on the elements. She decided astral projection was a good idea, given the weird feeling she'd gotten, like someone had been watching.

While her physical body stayed put, her astral body went back in the study and she saw Davina standing by the balcony. Morgana rushed over to her, half-ignoring Klaus and Hayley arguing.

"Davina, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" She demanded.

"Wha--how did you know?" Davina sputtered.

Morgana gave her an unimpressed look. "Did you honest to God think I wouldn't notice an astral projection spell? You are so damn lucky it was me who noticed and not someone else. I'm only asking one more time: what are you doing? If you're here on behalf of the Strix, then I suggest you go."

"I'm not, I swear," Davina promised. "Elijah killed one of their witches last night. I was trying to consecrate her, and I accidentally glimpsed her memories. Something about a pale horse."

Morgana tensed. "The rest of this conversation depends entirely on your answer to my next question: will you report this to the Strix?"

"No."

She searched Davina's face. "Good. You don't need to worry about the horse. I know you already know. Don't look so surprised," she added. "We've got it under control. Thank you for your concern. Next time shoot me a text. Now go."

Morgana turned to re-enter her body, but paused and glanced back over her shoulder. "And Davina? I'm gonna hold you to that 'no'."

She left the study, waited a moment, then went back in. Davina was gone. Morgana went back inside her body, blew out the candles and hid them again. Klaus met her in the doorway.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Something felt off again when they got to the cemetery. This time, however, Klaus didn't seem to notice. Judging by the claws digging into Morgana's shoulder, Grendel did. At least she wasn't going completely crazy.

Klaus threw the bag on the ground and pulled out his phone. "No service."

"Something's wrong," Morgana replied. "It feels like something's about to happen."

He started calling for Cami. Morgana closed her eyes and called on Fire, looking for any heat signatures.

Her eyes snapped open and she tugged on his sleeve.

"Someone else is here," she whispered in his ear. "Keep calling for Cami, pretend you don't know. I'm going to finish the trade and ambush them."

He nodded and continued calling Cami. Morgana picked up the bag, carefully watching her surroundings. She called on Air and lifted herself just above the ground so no one could hear her footsteps and weaved her way through the tombs. She met Vincent at the entrance to one of them.

"Someone is here," she whispered.

He nodded and passed her. She floated the rest of the way into the tomb and landed in front of Cami.

"Be careful," Morgana whispered, holding out the bag. "Someone is here."

Something hit her back, throwing her against the wall. The bag fell from her hands and Grendel leaped into the air, yowling. Morgana quickly got up, trying to catch her breath.

A witch in a cloak was standing in the doorway.

"Do you have any idea how cliché you look, honey?" Morgana panted. "Halloween isn't for another several months."

She held out her hands and made a fist, stepping up next to Cami. The witch screamed and doubled over.

"I don't want to kill you," Morgana said. "Go before I change my mind."

The witch laughed and straightened. "Hand it over, and then I'll go."

"Not happening."

The witch flicked her wrist. A sharp _snap_ sounded, and Cami screamed and fell to the ground. The witch held her hand out at Morgana, and she was brought to her knees as well, blood leaking from her nose and eyes. Morgana held out her hand and shot a stream of fire at the witch, who dodged it. The witch made a fist, and Morgana screamed again, grabbing her head. Grendel jumped on the witch's shoulder and started biting her face. He jumped off just before she caught him and went for her legs.

The witch ignored him and flicked her wrist again. Cami screamed again. The horse fell out of her hands and rolled toward the witch. Morgana shot another stream of fire at her, this time backing with a blast of wind. Cami grabbed what looked like a lightbulb and smashed it on the ground. A piercing noise erupted throughout the tomb. Distracted, Morgana stopped the fire and wind and covered her ears. When the sound stopped and she uncovered her ears, the witch and the horse were gone.

Grendel nudged her shoulder, and she briefly scratched under his chin. Klaus and Vincent rushed into the tomb. Cami was already on her feet.

"It's gone," Morgana said, standing. "That damn witch took it."

She wiped the blood off her face and set to work with Vincent on a tracking spell.

"You realize this is your doing?" Klaus yelled at Cami. "Your attempt to manipulate me played right into our enemy's hands!"

"And I said I'm sorry," Cami replied.

"Your apologies won't bring back what's been lost!"

"Then shut up and let Vincent track down that witch!"

" _Enough!_ " Morgana interrupted.

The candles flared before a gust of wind blew them out. Thunder crashed above them. All of them looked at her, stunned.

"You're both angry, I get it," she shouted. "But all this constant arguing and finger pointing isn't going to change what has happened! You're both at fault! You," she pointed at Klaus, "should have just handed over those _damn_ objects from the beginning! And you," she pointed at Cami, "should not have taken that _damn_ horse! And if you both insist on continuing to act as children, then _get the hell out of this damn tomb_ and take it somewhere else. I will _not_ hesitate to break _both_ your necks if only to stop the utter _bullshit_ pouring out of you like rivers."

She took a breath. "Do I make myself clear?"

When no one responded, she nodded. A phone went off, and she cursed. Cami pulled her phone out, and Morgana pointed to the exit. Cami took the call outside, and Morgana and Vincent got back to work.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana groaned as she flopped face-first on her bed. She'd spent the entire night at the compound helping Freya track down the witch, with no luck, and the sun was only just starting to rise.

Of course Aurora would be behind everything. Because why not, right? A jilted lover, whose brother they'd all helped send into the ocean, was armed with white oak and very dangerous.

Morgana hadn't even realized she'd been speaking aloud until Grendel chirped at her.

"And Lucien seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet again," she continued. "God knows how long that will last this time."

For a moment she was lost in memories. Gentle touches and sweet words suddenly becoming demands and harsh realizations. Morgana shook her head.

"Whatever may happen with Lucien, both he and Aurora will wish they'd never met me."


	13. Heart-Shaped Box

"All of our heads are on the chopping block because he lost the one thing that can kill an Original," Marcel snapped.

Morgana sighed. It was just so much fun trying to discuss their next move, especially when everyone was on edge.

"It's not his fault that Cami was waving the white oak around like a kite, or that Aurora made a deal with one of your witches," Freya interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, it is--"

"I am quite capable of defending myself, thank you, Freya," Klaus cut him off, standing in between them. "What I cannot do is cast a spell to find Aurora. In that respect, we're alike."

Morgana raised her eyebrows. Grendel grumbled from some corner of the room.

"Aurora is cloaked," Freya hissed. "Most likely by the very witch she killed. I have been working non-stop every day."

"Well, you've stopped working now, haven't you?"

Freya glared at him.

"Well go on. On your way."

"Do you talk to our other sister like this?" She asked.

He blanched.

"Didn't think so."

She stormed out of the room, ignoring Elijah calling after her.

"Nice one, Klaus," Morgana said, clapping.

"What do we know about this traitor in the Strix coven?" Elijah asked.

"Nothing," Marcel replied. "No one knows how Aurora got to her. No one knows where Aurora is. Our coven hit the same cloaking spell as Freya."

" _Your_ coven?" Klaus said. "Making yourself quite comfortable with the Strix, aren't you?"

"Yeah, to help you."

Marcel went to leave, but Klaus grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Any other news from your new BFFs you'd like to make us aware of?" Klaus asked.

Marcel glared at him. Elijah rolled his eyes as he went to leave the room.

"Niklaus, why don't we reserve any malevolent intentions for ex- girlfriends," he suggested.

Marcel yanked his arm away from Klaus and left. Klaus turned to Morgana, who held up her finger at him as Grendel walked around her feet.

"If you ask me about Aurora, so help me Klaus I will snap your neck with my bare hands," she warned.

He rolled his eyes. She smiled sardonically.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"A forest of pine, and a box made so fine," Klaus read. "Come quickly. If not, then poor Freya will rot, buried in dirt for all time."

How wonderful. Aurora kidnaps Freya and leaves a visually stunning piece of poetry behind.

Klaus slammed the note on the table. "The woman is insane."

"You're just now realizing this?" Morgana asked drily.

"Does she have to punish us with the world's most unfortunate limerick?" Elijah scoffed. "Is it not enough that we're forced to play her wretched games?"

"Freya and I saw visions of herself buried alive," Morgana reminded them.

"Aurora will do everything in her power to bring about this miserable prophecy," Elijah said.

"Let's go stop her, shall we?" Klaus replied.

He snatched the compass off the table, and they left the clock tower.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They ended up at what appeared to be a carpenter's workshop in the woods.

"Freya's not in there," Klaus said. "She was. I can smell her blood. But the stronger scent is due west."

Grendel kept sheathing and unsheathing his claws. Morgana reached up and briefly scratched behind his ears, hoping to calm him some.

"You two track the scent," Elijah replied. "I'll take the cabin."

He headed for the cabin, and Morgana and Klaus went west.

"Niklaus," Elijah called.

They stopped and looked back at him.

"Whatever happens, you promise me..."

"Aurora dies today," Klaus agreed.

They continued on their separate ways. Grendel jumped off her shoulder and ran ahead. Morgana shared a glance with Klaus and called on Air. She flew after Grendel and cursed when she caught up.

They'd found a freshly dug grave with lavender in the dirt. She cursed again and kneeled. She pressed her palms against the ground and called on Earth. She lifted her hands and turned her palms face up and slowly rose. The fresh dirt rose with her, and she moved it to the side.

Klaus pulled out a wooden coffin and opened it. On the inside of the lid, the words "Guess Again" were written in blood. Morgana ran her hands through her hair and turned in a circle. She suddenly noticed dozens more mounds of dirt, each with sprigs of lavender.

" _Oh, for fuck's sake!_ " She shouted.

She kneeled again and pressed her palms to the ground. This time she called on Fire and searched for any heat signatures. She found one--a body. Luckily it was moving.

Morgana called on Earth again and moved the dirt like before. Klaus opened the lid of the coffin this time instead of pulling it out first. He helped Freya out.

" _Thank God,_ " Morgana breathed.

They headed for the cabin. About halfway there, Klaus glanced her.

"I don't think I've ever heard you swear like that," he said.

"These days I find myself much more done and tired and angry and giving less of a damn than usual," she replied.

"Amen to that," Freya said.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They burst through the cabin door. Aurora spun, pointing a gun at Elijah. Dread filled Morgana's stomach. Aurora was a crazy bitch, but she was smart. She wouldn't just point any gun at an Original.

"Stop this," Klaus ordered.

"Why?" Aurora asked. "One brother's life to end another brother's torment. It's almost poetic."

"The bullets," Elijah said. "They're white oak, Niklaus."

_Shit._

Klaus slowly approached Aurora. "We both know you're not going to pull the trigger."

"Yet again, you're wrong," Aurora replied.

Just as she fired, Freya flicked her wrist and forced Aurora to miss. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and hit Freya in the stomach. Morgana caught her as she fell. Aurora vamp sped away. Elijah rushed over to them, and Klaus headed for the door.

"Tend to Freya," he said. "I have to murder my ex."

He glanced at Morgana. She glanced between Freya and Elijah. Elijah nodded, and she got up and called on Air. She flew to keep up with Klaus. Grendel stayed behind.

Eventually Klaus slowed down. Morgana went a little farther to try and sneak up on Aurora.

"You were right to run," Klaus called. "What I'm going to do to you will redefine the word sadistic."

Aurora appeared behind him. He turned to face her, but she shot him in the shoulder. Morgana's stomach dropped.

"It was such a beautifully carved little knight," Aurora said. "I could tell the effort you put into it. Since you have such an appreciation for chess...Queen takes King."

Klaus grabbed a "No Trespassing" sign and threw it at her before vamp speeding away. The sign buried itself in her side. She pulled it out and looked around.

Morgana landed silently. She used Air to throw her voice.

"Aurora," she lowly sang.

She smirked in satisfaction as Aurora turned in a circle.

"Behind you."

Aurora whipped around, frustration showing on her face. "Quit playing games and come out!"

"Are you sure you want that, honey? Every single person who has ever messed with me is dead.”

Morgana flew around Aurora, using the trees as cover, and landed behind her. Aurora whipped around, and Morgana knocked the gun out of her hand. She grabbed Aurora's neck and forced her down to her knees. She called on Fire and started burning her. Morgana smiled as Aurora screamed.

Aurora grabbed Morgana's wrist and twisted. A _crack_ echoed around them as it broke, and Morgana shrieked, letting go of Aurora. Aurora shot to her feet and kicked Morgana in the stomach, sending her flying back into the nearest tree. She caught her breath quickly, wincing at the pain in her back and ribs, and got up. Aurora had the gun pointed at Klaus, who was on the ground. Elijah appeared behind him, and Aurora shot him. Morgana flew at Aurora, but she was gone. Morgana cursed.

"Go!" Klaus yelled.

She hesitated for a moment, but flew after Aurora. She landed in front of her at the road.

"And where do you think you're going?" Morgana asked.

Aurora's response was to aim the gun at her. Morgana called on Fire and heated it up, never once breaking eye contact with Aurora. The metal turned red before she dropped it. Morgana pounced, using Air to propel her forward as she kicked Aurora's legs out from under her. Aurora landed on her back, and Morgana straddled her.

"You know, under different circumstances I think we could've been friends," Aurora said.

"Oh, honey," Morgana sighed. "Under every circumstance I guarantee you I would despise you."

"Why do you even stick around them? All Nik and his family bring is death and tragedy. With your abilities and my--"

"Your what, exactly?" Morgana interrupted. "I don't doubt you're intelligent, Aurora, but we both know you'd never be able to convince me to go against them."

She leaned over Aurora, inches from her face, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "You will never be the cause of their downfall, no matter how much you hate them, no matter how much you try for Tristan--dear, sweet, beloved brother Tristan--you will never get your revenge. You will die, and Tristan won't. At least, not for long. You will never see him again."

Morgana had pushed her too far. Aurora flipped them over so she was on top and stuck her hand inside Morgana's chest. Morgana screamed, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped.

"Oh dear," she grit out. "Have I touched a nerve?"

She grabbed Aurora's face with her good hand and burned her again. Aurora took her hand out of Morgana's chest, thankfully leaving her heart in place, and vamp sped away.

Morgana dropped her arm and laid there, staring up at the sky. Her chest still throbbed, blood leaking out of the hole from Aurora's hand, and she knew she would die of blood loss before anyone found her. She was grateful Aurora hadn't managed to rip her heart out; she'd never died from that before, and wasn't sure if it was something she could come back from.

She groaned. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the rest of her body was beginning to feel it. Her ribs, her back, her head--her whole body, really. Morgana dug her phone out and called Klaus.

"Where are you?" He answered.

"By the road," she panted. "Aurora got away. Listen, I'll probably be dead from blood loss by the time you--or not."

He was already coming out from the trees. She tried to sit up, faltering when her chest screamed in protest. He kneeled next to her and bit into his wrist.

"I know you don't like to, but it's better than dying," he said. "Again."

She snorted, winced, and cursed before drinking. When she was done Morgana took a few deep breaths and got up. Realization hit her, and she turned to Klaus with wide eyes.

"Elijah is fine," he assured her. "He's with Freya at the cabin. We're going home."  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
While they'd been hunting a whiny bitch vampire, apparently the Strix had attacked Hayley. They were trying to take her heart.

"The attack was about breaking the sire link," she continued. "Marcel told me Aya's witches already have a spell to do it."

"And how does your heart play into all of this?" Klaus asked.

"I'm the only unsired vampire in history. Apparently that's the key to making it work."

"And yet Marcel neglected to mention it this morning."

"Hey!" Hayley snapped. "Ease up. He saved me."

"But the Strix might yet come for you," Elijah said.

"Let them," she replied. "I'm not an easy target. They'd be better off finding some witchy workaround."

"Unless they already have," Morgana said. "They need the heart of an unsired vampire."

There was a pause.

"Jackson," Elijah said.

Hayley closed her eyes. "The unification ceremony didn't just marry us. It also made his heart a mirror image of mine."

Klaus and Elijah shared a look.

"We need to dig it up," Klaus said, standing.

"Klaus.”

"Aurora's bullet very nearly killed Elijah. When she returns, and she will, I would prefer the vampires of New Orleans be obligated to protect us. They'll be more likely to do so if our lives remain linked to theirs."

He walked off. Elijah stood. "Niklaus is right. The sire link has to remain unbroken. We have to go."

Hayley sighed. Morgana stood from her seat.

"On that note, I'm going home," she said. "Unless I'm needed?"

Elijah shook his head. "No. You're exhausted, Morgana, go home and rest."

She smiled at him and squeezed Hayley's hand. "If you need anything--"

"Call," Hayley finished.

Morgana blinked, then smiled again. "Oh dear. Am I that predictable?"


	14. A Streetcar Named Desire

"Who's dying?" Morgana asked, storming into the study of the compound. "Or who are we killing?"

"No one yet," Elijah replied.

She shot him a look. "I know you know it's three in the damn morning, Elijah, and we also know I don't like being woken up prematurely, so this better be damn good."

Grendel huffed in agreement. He jumped off her shoulder and wound around Freya's legs.

"I daggered Rebekah," he said.

There was a pause. Morgana cursed under her breath.

"And you're just mentioning this now?" Freya hissed.

"She sacrificed herself in order to protect us. And to protect her I've told Niklaus and I'm telling you. No one would've known Rebekah's whereabouts if Aurora had taken my life."

"The prophecy says you three will be felled by friend, family and foe," Morgana reminded him. "Rebekah has been fallen by family. That leaves friend and foe. You and Klaus have quite a few foes."

"Just one or two," Elijah replied.

"Thankfully not many friends," Freya muttered.

Footsteps made them all turn. Klaus entered with a strange man.

"This is Stefan Salvatore," Klaus said. "An old friend."

Morgana had to hold her breath to keep from snorting. Oh, the timing.

"One of my trickle down sirelings," he continued. "Long story. Stefan, this is Freya, my brand new older sister. Also a long story. And this is Morgana, my ex."

"Yet another long story," Morgana said.

He pat Stefan on the back. "Stefan needs a favor."

"You're an old _friend_ , are you?" Freya asked.

"Well, that kind of depends on your definition," Stefan replied.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"So just to recap," Morgana said. "A mystical vampire huntress stabbed you with her magic sword, Klaus killed her, but she can't die?"

"Yeah," Stefan replied. "She regenerates."

"And she won't rest until you're dead," Freya finished.

"Right. So no matter how far I run, this wound acts as a beacon, drawing her to me. So I guess you could say it's been a bit of a rough week."

Morgana snorted. Freya rubbed a herbal paste over the wound on his chest.

"Well, I can't cure the wound, but this paste will mask its signal," Freya said. "Just let that dry, and you'll be on your merry way."

He frowned. "You know, not that I was expecting a, uh, parade or anything, but why is everyone so eager for me to go?"

"It's nothing against you," Morgana assured him. "Truly. There's just, uh...let's call it a bit of a dilemma."

"And that dilemma is?"

"Oh, let's see," Freya began. "There's Elijah's super-secret society of ancient vampires. One of their more zealous members, an old flame of Elijah's, is trying to undo my mother's most powerful spell."

"And then there's one of Klaus' old flames as well, who happens to be in possession of a rather dangerous weapon and is currently missing," Morgana added. "Add that all together and you've got the recipe for a shitcake."

Stefan snorted. Grendel ran into the room, fur fluffed out and a wild look in his eyes. Morgana glanced at Freya and followed Grendel out into the courtyard.

Hayley and Marcel were there. Lucien was sitting in a chair, draining blood bag after blood bag.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" Morgana demanded.

"Nice to see you too," Lucien replied. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

She ignored him, focused on Hayley and Marcel.

"I had no idea that Aya was gonna take Klaus and Elijah down!" Marcel said.

Morgana gaped, panic beginning to bubble in her chest.

"And regardless," he continued, "why the hell are we trusting this guy all of a sudden, huh? He's the one who ran off with Aurora the first chance he got."

"You can hardly follow a man for following his heart," Lucien interrupted. "Yet the moment she started raving about firing white oak bullets into Klaus, well...words were said, hearts broken, veins drained."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "And we do not trust him."

Hayley turned to Marcel. "You're one to talk about trust. Who was it that handed my dead husband's heart to the people that helped murder him?"

"I bought your life with that heart," he argued. "But hey, you know what? You called me here, so if you have another plan, please, let's hear it."

"It's simple. We storm the coven house, stop the Strix from completing the de-siring spell. Period."

"Okay, well, that's easy for you to say. You're not sired to anybody, are you?"

"It's not just about de-siring," Lucien said. "We've got to stop an execution."

"Explain," Morgana growled.

"A lovesick teenage witch with a runner-up heart is somehow going to break the sire link? I'm sorry, but your darling Davina is in over her head, and Aya knows this. She will let Davina de-sire both brothers, then test the spell's success by firing a white oak bullet into Klaus' heart."

Her stomach dropped.

"I mean, it's a win-win for her," he continued. "If you live, Marcel, she's won. If not, at least she's eliminated the rival sireline, including me."

"His prophecy witch said she saw Klaus die and his entire sireline burn," Hayley said.

"She watched us fall," Lucien agreed. "She watched us burn. Every soul Klaus ever turned. When Aya tests this spell, Klaus will fall either way. And, if Davina fails, which she likely will, the two of us will die as well."

Stefan entered the courtyard. "Actually, make that the three of us."

Morgana took a deep breath and ripped the blood bag out of Lucien's hands. "Don't underestimate Davina."

She crumpled it and used Fire to burn it as she walked off to get supplies.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana entered the courtyard with Hayley and Freya.

"I guess it's on me to come up with our grand plan then," Lucien was saying.

"No need, Lucien," Hayley said. "Freya and Morgana figured out a way to get the boys out of the chamber. They just need a strong enough power source."

"I'd channel Finn, but he's all for letting our brothers perish," Freya said. "So we'll channel Lucien. The older the vampire, the better the battery."

"We're going to buy them some time," Hayley added.

"Wait, so you want me here holding hands with the leftover sister and crazy ex while you take the two toddlers and tackle the Strix?" Lucien scoffed. "You must be jok---"

Morgana, having had enough, flicked her wrist and snapped his neck. She gave a wicked smile as he fell back on to the couch behind him.

"That was impressive," Stefan said.

"I like the sound of peace," she replied. "And the sound of Lucien Castle's voice is not what peace sounds like."

"Wait, so the plan is that the three of us are gonna keep one hundred of the world's most ancient vampires occupied?" Marcel interrupted.

"Well, there could be another way," Stefan mused. "All you have to do is get us to the front door."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Grendel growled, making Morgana crack an eye open. Lucien looked back at her and smirked. She closed her eye and ignored him.

"Did you have to tie me up?" He complained.

She and Freya sighed. Freya walked over to him while Morgana continued the spell, paying some attention to their conversation.

"I need you to not move," Freya instructed.

"You're a dark one, Freya Mikaelson," he replied. "Vervain ropes, penetrating spells--throw in a Pinot and a cheap motel and you've got the beginnings of a romance."

Morgana held back a gag.

"Well, you'd have to survive this first," Freya said. "You see, there's an anchor locking my brothers inside. Something representational. That's why they can't get out. But I'm going to bust into this little mental prison and shatter it from the inside. And it's going to take most of my power, most of Morgana's and probably all of yours."

"Oh, love, my stamina's never been an issue."

Morgana stopped the spell and snorted, shooting him a knowing look. "I beg to differ. You’ve always had difficulty keeping up."

She joined Freya at the coffee table and took Freya's hand. Lucien wasn't given the chance to retort.

"Onlucan et permette mon ostium. Onlucan et permette mon ostium. Onlucan et permette mon ostium. Dia a la vida."

Freya's astral self was sent to the chamber. Morgana stayed with her body to keep the spell going and to keep an eye on Lucien and their surroundings. Suddenly Freya gasped. Startled, Morgana's eyes flew open and she stopped the spell. They looked at Lucien, who was unconscious. Freya rushed to check on him. Morgana stood and watched.

His hand turned a bright red, and her stomach dropped as it spread up his arm.

" _Shit!_ " She hissed. "The link is being broken! Shit!"

And then it stopped. Lucien remained unconscious. Morgana and Freya exchanged terrified looks. All they could do now was wait.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana took a sip from the whiskey bottle again. No one had returned or sent any form of news her way. She was sitting in front of the fireplace in the study, worrying and wondering and cursing and praying.

"You're staring at the flames as if you wish to join them."

She froze for a moment, then slowly rose and turned toward the voice. Klaus was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. She wasn't sure how to respond. Her mouth mimicked a fish's.

Morgana found feeling in her legs again and rushed over to him. He uncrossed his arms and caught her as she wrapped him in a tight hug. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Relief flooded through her, taking away the lump of worry that had been weighing heavily in her stomach for hours.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come back," she whispered.

His grip on her tightened. "I'm always going to come back."

"You better."


	15. An Old Friend Calls

Morgana propped her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand. There was no doubt in her mind that today's topic wasn't going to be about unicorns.

"You collect trophies from all your victims?" Freya asked incredulously.

"Letters to their loved ones, to be specific," Elijah replied.

Klaus half-ignored them, continuing to rifle through the contents of the small wooden box. "It was a phase."

"A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth. You see, over time Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world. And then...well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discreet. Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?"

The corner of Morgana's mouth quirked up into a crooked smirk.

"We all saw the white oak destroyed!" Klaus reminded them. "Plus, this city is crawling with vampires, all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they would die too. I couldn't have been more safe!"

Worry crossed his face. "And now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me like never before."

"It's only been a few days since the link was broken," Freya sighed. "Must you jump into crippling paranoia already?"

"It's a default setting," Morgana and Elijah said at the same time.

"And for good reason!" Klaus insisted.

Elijah stood and walked over to him. "Well, Niklaus, if it offers you any solace whatsoever, you've ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground and obliterated every last splinter of white oak."

"I would be mad to believe that," Klaus growled.

"Perhaps you should see a therapist."

Klaus stared at him and sighed. He looked to Freya, then Morgana, then left without another word.

"Every last splinter?" Freya asked. "Are you sure?"

Elijah didn't respond.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After all the spells and panic and chaos, all Morgana wanted to do was sleep. Naps were good. She liked naps. She didn't like having them interrupted. But, unfortunately, her curiosity got the best of her. Which is why she was sitting on the couch in the study, leaning her head in her hand.

"It was him, it was Gaspar Cortez," Klaus was saying.

"Someone from your letter collection?" Morgana asked.

"The youngest son of a particularly vile family of warlords I dealt with in the 17th century," he replied.

"Didn't they burn that Philistine pigsty to the ground?" Elijah asked.

"Pigsty?" Klaus scoffed. "Belaga was my favorite artist retreat. Someone had to pay for that, so I murdered Gaspar's brute of a father."

"And?" Freya prompted.

"And one or two--"

"Five," Elijah interjected.

"--five of his bloodthirsty brothers."

"Don't forget the mistress."

"That was an accident!"

Morgana snorted at how offended Klaus sounded. Elijah rolled his eyes.

"The point is that Gaspar was but a footnote," he said.

"Until he became a vampire," Klaus replied. "Hell-bent on hunting me. He's a cunning deviant, known to compel hoards of the helpless to aid him with his tasks. You see, this is exactly what I was concerned about. Devils of all kinds, crawling out of their crevices to strike at me."

He stopped just as Grendel bounded out of the room. Morgana lifted her head and shared a look with Klaus.

"Speaking of which," he growled.

He vamp sped out of the room. They chased after him into the courtyard. Davina was on one side, by the entrance, while Klaus was across the room. A man was standing near Davina. Something about him was vaguely familiar. Grendel jumped on Morgana's shoulder, completely unbothered.

"Now, Nik, I mean, you did go after my girl," the man said.

_My girl?_

Morgana looked back and forth between Davina and the man. Realization washed over her.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

"It can't be," Klaus said.

"It's Kol," Davina confirmed. "When I broke your sire link, it created a surge of power."

Freya fixed her with a cold stare. "You stole the nexus vorti."

Davina rolled her eyes. "And brought your brother back from the dead."

"You should be thanking her, really," Kol chastised.

After a moment, Klaus pulled him into a hug. When they pulled away, Elijah walked up and looked Kol over, not saying anything.

"Hello, Elijah," Kol said.

"You haven't aged a day," Elijah replied.

Kol looked at Morgana and smiled. She returned it. His gaze went to Freya, and he frowned a little.

"And you...?" He trailed off.

"Freya," she introduced herself.

"Right, long lost older sister. Speaking of twists and turns in our family tree, where might Rebekah be?"

"That's a long story," Klaus replied. "And one reserved for family. Davina can see herself out."

Kol made a face. "Are you--"

"As per usual, our family faces a multitude of threats," Klaus cut him off. "The sooner you become acquainted with them, the better. I won't have you distracted."

"By Davina? You know, if you could only pull your head out of your--"

"Kol, it's okay," Davina interrupted. "I'll go."

"Davina--"

"You can make it up to me."

"And I will. Dust off that fancy dress, 'cause tonight we're going dancing."

She smiled. "Okay."

They kissed goodbye, and she left. Morgana thought they made a cute couple.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Mixing the ashes of these letters with your blood, Nik, will show us where your enemies are," Kol explained, burning some letters.

He crushed the ashes with a mortar and pestle. Freya handed him a goblet of Klaus' blood, and he sprinkled some of the ashes in before handing it back to her. She poured the blood over the map on the table. Kol handed her a piece of paper.

"With feeling now," he said.

Freya laughed and started the spell. "Calaste piso tal tras es tros. Calaste piso tal tras es tros."

Morgana crossed her arms as she watched the blood. It split into eleven drops, each of which scattered across the map--Illinois, Southern California, South-Central Mexico, Southeastern Brazil, Belgium, Southern Italy, Western Russia, Nigeria, South Korea, South Africa, and New Orleans.

"Behold your greatest hits, Klaus," Freya said. "All over the world, but only one is here. Which means the legion of enemies you were worried about is an army of one."

Klaus pulled out his phone and glanced at it. He vamp sped away without saying anything. Morgana rolled her eyes.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"We've got a problem," Morgana called.

Freya and Kol joined her. The blood on the map was moving toward New Orleans. Every single drop.

"It never stops," Freya said. "Never."

Morgana cursed.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Klaus and Elijah joined them not long after. Amazing what a text can accomplish. The drops of blood were quickly getting closer.

"So this may only be a fraction of our potential enemies," Elijah said.

"In hindsight, we could've been nicer to people," Kol admitted. "Or at least left fewer survivors."

No one was terribly thrilled with that comment.

"We don't know all their motivations," Klaus said. "Half of these people could want to put the bullet in your heart!" He gestured to Elijah. "End the sire war with the pull of a trigger."

"I have an army devoted to keeping me alive," Elijah replied. "The only people that care to protect you are standing in this very room."

He paused. "As you well know, Niklaus, there is another way."

Morgana and Freya shared a look.

"You're going to run?" Freya asked.

"There was a time when the name Klaus Mikaelson was little more than a rumor," Klaus replied. "A shadowy figure who cast fear into the very bones of any who heard whisper of him. I don't run, sister. I disappear. And tonight, the four of you are going to make that possible."

He held up a bloody sack. The plan was put into place over the next few hours. Marcel was given the sack. Inside was Cortez's head, which was used as the reason for the dead Strix members. Kol gave the girls the spell to cloak Klaus and went on his date with Davina.

Morgana stopped in the doorway to Klaus' room and knocked. He stopped packing and looked up. She gave a small smile.

"Come to give some of your sage advice?" He teased.

"Hardly," she replied.

She sobered as he zipped up the bag. "You'll be careful?"

"Always am, love."

"Not always."

He lifted the bag and walked over to her. She hugged him, possibly a little too tight, but the worry in her chest still threatened to strangle her.

"I'm gonna miss you," she whispered. "Just for the record."

She kissed his cheek as she pulled away. She left the room quickly. She didn't want him to see the sadness on her face.

Morgana joined Elijah and Freya in the courtyard. How she made it down before Klaus, she didn't know. Grendel wound between her legs. She hissed quietly as he climbed up her legs. When he reached her hips she picked him up and put him on her shoulder.

"Is it done?" Klaus asked, coming down the stairs.

"Yes," Freya replied. "And now any witch who does a locator spell will believe you're right here in New Orleans."

"You know, for all his mischief, Kol truly is a master of his craft," Elijah mused.

"Yes, well, drawing trouble is his forte," Klaus agreed. "You'll thank him for me."

Elijah nodded. "Don't stop driving until you're absolutely certain that you are safe."

"You don't have to remind me how precious my cargo is."

They hugged. Klaus kissed Freya's cheek. Then he hugged Morgana.

"I'll miss you too," he whispered in her ear. "Just for the record."

He kissed her cheek as he pulled away, and she smiled at him. Sadness bloomed in her chest again. She stamped it down. He looked at Freya and gestured to Elijah.

"Keep him in line, would you, sister?" He asked.

She nodded, and he left. The three of them went up to the balcony overlooking the Quarter and watched him get in the car. Hayley was going with him, and they were taking Hope to keep her safe.

"It's going to be quiet around here," Freya said.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Elijah replied.

Once the car pulled away, Morgana slipped away and went to her own car. When she got back to her apartment, she let the sadness creep up on her for the night until she fell asleep.


	16. Alone With Everybody

Morgana massaged her temples. The compound was on unofficial lockdown because of the white oak, Finn was apparently back in the picture in his Original body, and, as if that wasn't enough, Lucien had just arrived. Grendel's slightly murderous expression confirmed it.

"Are you quite sure?" Elijah asked.

"I saw him with my own eyes," Kol insisted. "Finn must have come back when Davina resurrected me. The spell was tied to the blood of the Mikaelson line. Either it worked on him, or he found a way to hijack it. Either way, the only how I care about right now is how long I'm going to make him suffer before I kill him."

He started pacing.

"Restraint, brother," Elijah said. "For now."

"Why?" Kol scoffed. "Finn is clearly the one spreading rumors about missing white oak. He's luring Nik's enemies out of the woodwork. It's all just part of his tedious revenge fantasy."

"You're wrong," Freya argued, entering the study. "Those rumors began before either of you returned. Finn's innocent."

"Innocent?" Kol repeated incredulously.

She crossed her arms and nodded, leaning back against the desk.

"Pardon me, love, but Finn tried to kill the rest of us more than once! He's an enemy of our family."

"He _is_ our family. Finn's return is an opportunity to mend old wounds and fix what's broken."

Morgana liked the sentiment, but knew that was never going to happen.

"He didn't just drop a bloody vase!" Kol shouted. "He _murdered_ me!"

Elijah approached Freya. "You seem certain."

Kol gave him a look. "Are you honestly siding with her?"

Elijah held up his hand. "Time and time again, Finn has demonstrated nothing but contempt toward his family. So, you tell me--how can you be so certain that he would return to us in peace?"

A man entered the room and raised his hands in a non-threatening manner.

"Our sister knows me well," he said. "Though, perhaps you're right to doubt my intentions. By all means, let's discuss our family quarrels. I believe we're long overdue."

Morgana's jaw dropped, a string of curses leaving her mouth at the same time. Of course Finn would choose this moment to show up.

And why did all the Mikaelsons have to be so damn hot?  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"What are you doing here?" Marcel asked.

"I'm joining you on the hunt," Morgana replied. "I didn't feel like sitting in on more family fights. There will be plenty for me to attend in the future."

She cracked her knuckles. Her eyes landed on the body lying on the ground. "Who's this poor bastard?"

"Random enemy of Klaus," Marcel explained. "Elijah spotted him in the St. James."

"If he's here for the auction, they must've sent him a login," Josh mused. "Check his texts and emails."

Morgana and Vincent joined them at the computer. Vincent had the guy's phone. He handed the phone to Josh. "I got it."

"Yes!"

Josh typed the code in, and a video of a woman popped up.

"Welcome," she said.

"That's her," Vincent said.

"You are the lucky few, chosen for your extensive resources and extreme prejudice against the Mikaelsons. Whoever's bid proves most alluring to my employer will become the sole owner to the last piece of white oak in existence."

She held up the white oak bullet. Morgana's stomach flipped.

"Opening bid is five million dollars. Shall we begin?"

The video went away. A chatroom screen took its place. Dozens of bids were being placed.

"Damn," Morgana breathed. "A fleet of oil tankers? A dozen casinos in Monaco? I think it's safe to say they're not playing."

"Marcel?" Josh prompted.

"Type aliquid sub sole," Marcel replied. "It's Latin for "anything," an infamous Strix rite. It means the whole order pledges to fulfill any one command."

Josh typed it in.

"You really think that's gonna work?" Vincent asked.

The screen turned black, and the words "Bid Accepted" appeared.

"Okay," Josh said.

The phone rang. They stared at it for a moment before Josh answered.

"Congratulations," the woman's voice said. "Four o'clock, 318 Toulouse Street, Suite One."

She hung up. Josh looked stunned. Marcel looked pleased.

"All right," he said. "Let's go get our prize."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana and Vincent snuck into the room behind Marcel. Vincent had brought a white pillar candle. She didn't see the need to bring her element candles this time. Marcel helped a bloodied Josh up off the ground as they set up.

"Cutting it a little close on the rescue, aren't we?" Josh said.

"Had to give you enough time to do your thing," Marcel replied. "So did you?"

Josh smiled. "Oh yeah. She's gonna have one heck of a dry-cleaning bill."

Morgana kneeled in front of the table and lit the candle. She joined hands with Vincent as Josh bit into his hand and let it bleed on to the candle.

"You sure you can track her using his blood?" Marcel asked.

They ignored him and started the spell.

"Aducté do mi volum ix ti de."  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana and Vincent blocked off the woman's exit with a horde of others behind them. Morgana smiled and waved.

"Free piece of advice," Vincent said. "Know when you're outmatched."

She raised her hands. "I don't get paid enough to die."

"The person who pays you got a name?" Marcel asked.

She didn't respond. He shrugged. "Alright then. I have a feeling we can jog your memory."

"You don't understand," she insisted. "If I give you his name I'm as good as dead. And now that you've gotten in his way, so are you."

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before," Morgana sighed.

She twisted her wrist, breaking the woman's neck. Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. She groaned and put it back.

"I'm assuming you got it from here?" She asked Marcel.

"Yeah, why?" He replied.

She started walking away. "Take a guess. And text if you need anything."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana skidded to a stop in the courtyard. Finn was crawling backwards, looking a little worse for wear, and Kol was quickly advancing on him. He was holding a candle. She almost laughed.

"Kol, stop," Freya ordered. Elijah and Lucien were behind her. Morgana wondered why the hell Lucien was still here.

Kol glared at Freya. Elijah went in front of him and forced him back. "Enough."

"This isn't your fight!" Kol spat.

"I told you to stay your hand."

Kol scowled. "Fine. I'd rather take my chances out there with white oak than stay here with you lot."

He threw the candle across the room and stormed out. Davina hurried after him. Freya rushed over to help Finn. Morgana wiggled   
her fingers, and Elijah looked at her. She nodded at him.

"Elijah," Freya said.

"He'll be fine," he assured her. "We've received a gift." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the white oak bullet. "The last remaining white oak in the world...right here."

Finn and Lucien stared intently at the bullet. Morgana didn't like the look on Lucien's face.

"Sister, if you would be so kind?" Elijah asked.

Freya nodded and flicked her wrist. The fire pit burst into flames, and Elijah threw the bullet in.

" _No!_ " Finn yelled. He plunged his hands into the fire and pulled out the bullet. Morgana covered her mouth. He fell to his knees. "The little witch has condemned me to _this!_ To remain a _beast!_ Elijah, I can't bear an eternity with no hope of escape. Can you?"

Elijah looked torn. "Finn, give it to me."

Finn didn't do anything.

"Give it to me," Elijah repeated.

Morgana held out her hand. The bullet flew into her hand. She threw it to Elijah, who caught it. When they all only continued to look at her, she frowned.

"If you're not going to destroy it," she began, "then give it to the person who loves you all the most."

Finn and Elijah looked to Freya. Lucien kept his gaze on Morgana. She sent him a warning glare and let the tiniest flame ignite from the tip of her middle finger. She looked at Freya, who nodded.

"I can cloak myself," she said. "If it has to exist, at least I can take it far away. Hide it under a thousand spells, somewhere no one will be able to find it. Until the day comes when...you're ready for release."

Elijah hesitated, but gave her the bullet. Morgana slowly exhaled. That particular heart attack was entirely unnecessary. She still didn't like the look on Lucien's face.

Something was going to happen because of tonight. And whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.


	17. Behind The Black Horizon

"Davina, listen. I know we are not on the best of terms, but I need you to listen to me, okay? Um, we're in serious trouble. Now, I'm recording this here because it's--it's free from magic, and magic is our enemy. The Ancestors got me on the hook doing some pretty twisted magic, and I want no part of it, but they're forcing me to help Lucien Castle. And if you don't help me, Freya Mikaelson's gonna die.

"Before they forced me to take her, they had me put up a cloaking spell, so we can't be tracked. Now, Lucien's taking us out of town some place, I don't know where. But there's a loophole."

Elijah paused the video. Morgana started pacing and ran her hands through her hair. Her heart was pounding.

"Just how am I the loophole?" Finn demanded.

"Last year, when Esther first brought us back, I got put into the body of a gormless twit," Kol replied impatiently. "But you got housed in one of the most powerful witch bodies in the city--Vincent's. And, even after all this time, there's still an echo of a body-soul connection between you two."

Elijah resumed the video.

"And Davina, that's where you come into play. I need a powerful witch that's off the Ancestors' radar."

Vincent grabbed a knife and cut his palm. Morgana chewed at her nail as he let the blood dribble into a vial.

"I want you to find the thread between me and Finn," he finished.

Elijah stopped the video and looked to Davina. "Have you ever done anything like this?"

"I don't even know if it's possible," she replied.

"It is," Morgana said. "I watched my mother perform it on one of my aunts. So with Vincent's blood and Finn's blood, do the spell right and you should be able to track them down."

Now it was Finn's turn to pace. "I should have sensed something was wrong when Freya didn't call. Now Lucien has a head start." He waved his hand at Davina. "Go, witch. Tend to your spells. I won't rest until she's found."

Morgana raised an eyebrow at his tone.

"Behold, the selfless martyr!" Kol scoffed. "First he wants to rip Davina's head off for trapping him in his body, now he can't wait to be spelled."

They glared at each other. Elijah stood.

"Finn, you and I shall go together," he ordered. "Kol, you stay here with Davina."

"You're going with him?" Kol replied. "So the two people responsible for not destroying the white oak when they had the chance, thus putting us in this bloody mess, are now off to try and fix it. That's just marvelous. What could possibly go wrong?"

Kol started to storm up to them and Morgana went to step in front of him, but Davina caught his wrist.

"Kol, look at me," she said. "I don't know this magic. I need your help. Come on."

She led him out of the room. Morgana exhaled slowly through her nose and ran her hand through her hair. She turned to Elijah.

"You know I'm coming with you, right?" Her tone left no room for argument.

He frowned, but didn't argue. He picked up a knife and held it out to Finn. "Let us begin."

"Do not give me orders, brother," Finn snapped. "And make no mistake. I do not look to you as an ally, or even family. The only reason I tolerate your presence is the hope of finding Freya."

He took the knife. Morgana and Elijah rolled their eyes.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana liked road trips. She didn't like road trips with Finn. They'd been driving for about an hour or so, and it was the quietest and most tense car ride she'd ever endured. Given her age, that was quite a statement. Grendel wasn't a fan either.

They drove past a "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign. The air in the car shifted from dramatic tension to stunned tension. The bars of a railroad crossing went down, and they slowed to a stop.

"Of course," Finn said. "Mystic Falls. Birthplace of our sorrows."

Elijah stayed silent, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

"So are we to drive around this entire pathetic town hoping to find my sister before Lucien murders her?" Finn continued.

Elijah sighed. "Kol has a plan."

"Kol and his ridiculous gambits."

"Nine hundred years in a box and zero patience."

Wait. Nine hundred years in a box?

"It's all a joke to you, isn't it?" Finn asked. "'Nine hundred years in a box' just rolls off your tongue as if the time passed without consequence. I assure you it did not."

"What are you suggesting?" Elijah replied. "We never experienced anything, least of all the passage of time."

"Being daggered for decades and being daggered for centuries are very different things. It starts off as a dim pinprick of light, growing brighter year after year, a slow consciousness that I was paralyzed, entombed in my own mind. That despair--utter loneliness--all amplified and made endless."

Morgana didn't like Finn. That would never change. But she couldn't help but feel bad for him. She could only imagine what it was like to experience that.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They ended up in what seemed to be the town square. Morgana decided that she'd like to live here someday as she got out of the car.

"How will we know when or _if_ this magic trick of Kol's works?" Finn asked.

"You'll know," Morgana replied.

Grendel ran out into the grass. She leaned against the car with the boys.

"It's strange," Elijah said. "The birthplace of our very misfortune, beyond that hill. Do you recall the first time we fled together, Finn?"  
Finn rolled his eyes.

"We were but children," Elijah continued. "Nothing but the clothes on our back, desire we had no idea how to control, and a father hell-bent on erasing us from the earth."

He started walking. Finn followed reluctantly. Morgana hung back a little.

"The first of many times we ran together over the next one hundred years til you left me entombed for nine centuries," Finn said.

"You were a danger," Elijah sighed.

"Danger?"

"Yes."  
"Klaus and Kol killed everything that moved, yet _I_ was the one considered too dangerous to undagger?"

"Despite their bloodlust, you were the poison that crippled us--"

Finn grabbed Elijah's arm. Morgana tensed. Grendel growled from somewhere nearby.

" _Poison?!_ I anchored us!" He shouted.

"You despised us," Elijah argued. "You despised yourself, terrified of everything we became. You threatened our very survival, Finn, just as you have every time we made the mistake of freeing you from that box."

"I was made that way _because_ of that box! Every time I close my eyes, I go back to that black horizon, that place where I was abandoned and forgotten by my own family. So yeah, I came out mad. And I remain so."

Elijah stared at him. Finn dropped his arm and walked away. Morgana massaged her temples. They made their way out of the town square and through an alleyway.

"I hate it here," Finn said. "This place birthed all our pain and sorrow. I refuse to let it be the place where our sister dies. Let us not wait for Kol and his witch's tricks. Let us simply tear this town apart and find her."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," a voice replied from behind them.

They all turned around to see a blonde man in a police uniform. He was pointing a gun at them.

"See, I just ran every single vampire out of this town," he continued. "So visiting hours are, well, never."

Morgana sighed. The man made his way closer to them, keeping the gun pointed at them. She contemplated using Air to rip it out of his hand.

"Elijah Mikaelson," he said.

"Matthew Donovan," Elijah replied. "How adorably inconvenient."

"Of course you know each other," Morgana groaned.

She called on Air and took Matthew's gun. The look on his face was priceless.

"We don't have time for this," she hissed. "Their sister and my friend is in danger, which is why we're here. You want us gone, you got two options." She held up two fingers. "Help us, or I'll knock you flat on your ass. Ten seconds before I decide for you."

He stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Use this gun on us, and I will kill you as painfully as possible," she warned.

She handed the gun back to him. She turned back around, and Finn leaned against the wall and groaned.

"Finn?" Elijah called.

"I know where they are," Finn replied after a moment.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
" _Lucien!_ " Morgana called.

He was holding Freya from behind in a headlock. Vincent was unconscious on the ground behind them. Morgana had two fireballs in her hands.

"Oh, just in time for the party!" Lucien said.

He held up a vial of some reddish-orange liquid and popped the lid off. "Cheers." He downed it all. Dread pooled in Morgana's stomach.

"Let the fun begin!" He said. "Can any of you get to me faster than I can rip Freya's darling head off?"

She stared him down.

"Didn’t think so."

Finn vamp sped over to Matthew and shot the gun three times. The bullets went through Freya's shoulder, and she fell to the ground. The bullets had ended up in Lucien's chest, and he looked stunned as he began to desiccate.

"Oh, you clever bastard," he said.

He dropped to the ground. Morgana, Elijah and Finn rushed over to Freya. Elijah and Morgana propped her up so she was leaning against Morgana and Finn. Elijah bit his wrist and fed Freya his blood. She gasped.

"It's okay, you're okay," Finn assured her.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"That guy?" Matthew checked. "He's dead."

"No..."

"Listen to me," Elijah said. "It's done, it's over."

"You don't understand," she argued. "He drank the serum. He _wanted_ you to kill him. You helped him take the final step."

Rustling sounds made Morgana look up. Her mouth dropped open as Lucien rose, alive and well. He bared his teeth, exposing double fangs. His eyes glowed red. Matthew fired round after round at him, but Lucien was unaffected. He backhanded Matthew, sending him flying into a tree and crumpling to the ground.

Elijah vamp sped over and landed a few hits on Lucien before he was knocked down. Finn shot over and lunged at him, but Lucien knocked him down before he could do anything.

"Poor show, poor show!" Lucien tutted. "Come on, gents, you can do better, surely!"

Elijah went at him again, but Lucien kicked him in the chest. "What do you think, Elijah? This new power--it suits me, no?" He continued to block Elijah's attacks. "I've pondered this. Who to end first, you or Klaus? I had thought him. But now that I'm here, I think it should be you."

Lucien lifted Elijah up by his jacket and prepared to bite him. Morgana, over her shock, stood and prepared to shoot a fireball at him, but Finn appeared behind him and smashed a bowl against his head. Stunned, Lucien dropped Elijah. He turned around and bit Finn in the neck. He dropped Finn and Elijah caught him.

Morgana used Air to fling Lucien back, throwing in a fireball for good measure. Freya held her hands out to her, and Morgana took them. They cast a barrier spell around them just as Lucien approached again.

"A barrier spell?" He said incredulously. "How delicious." He dragged his fingertips along it. "I do appreciate a bit of spice being thrown into the hunt. It isn't very fun if the quarry just rolls over and offers its neck, is it?"

"We can keep this up as long as we need to," Morgana growled.

"I don't doubt it, love," he replied. "Never mind. I _have_ waited a thousand years. I can wait a tad longer. I'm gonna enjoy making this last a long time."

Lucien vamp sped away. Morgana, Elijah, and Freya went over to Finn. He was groaning, and the bite...it was bloody and gaping and oozing and _awful_.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
By the time they got back to the compound, it was night. The bite hadn't even begun to heal. They laid Finn down on the couch.

"Don't leave me here!" He pleaded. "Don't leave me alone!"

Freya kneeled on the floor next to him and took his hand. He grabbed Elijah's hand. Morgana hung back near the entrance. There was nothing she could do for him.

"Why is talking like this?" Freya asked.

"It's hallucinations of our betrayal," Elijah explained. "It's his nightmare."

Kol entered the room and plopped on to the other couch. "Well, he looks awful. Werewolf bite. That's got to hurt, mate. So Lucien's a bloody hybrid?"

"We don't know what he is," Elijah replied. "His venom seems to work twice as fast."

"That's good," Freya said. "Maybe it'll work through his system twice as fast."

Kol got up and went to leave. "Or it's twice as lethal. Now if Niklaus doesn't get here in time, he might die. With a bit of luck."  
Freya got up and punched him in the face. His vampire face came out.

"What is wrong with you?" She demanded.

"Behave yourselves!" Elijah ordered. "Both of you."

Klaus appeared next to Morgana. "Sibling squabbling. How familiar. Although the teams seem to have changed. Someone care to tell me why?"

"Our brother needs us," Elijah replied.

Klaus looked between him and Finn. He sighed and went over to Finn. He bit into his wrist and fed Finn his blood. When he was done, he sighed in relief.

"Thank you, brother," he said.

"How do you feel?" Freya asked.

"I feel strangely euphoric," he replied.

"I've been known to have that effect," Klaus said.

Kol clapped. "What a precious family moment. Pardon me while I go and gouge my eyes out with a hot poker."

"I thank even you, Kol," Finn replied. "Your little witch actually came through. Today I saw a glimpse of your coveted 'Always and Forever.' And I--"

He began coughing so hard he was forced to sit up. He coughed out blood and fell back against the couch, groaning and writhing.  
"What's wrong with him?" Elijah asked.

"His body, it's dying," Freya replied.

"No, no, that's not possible!" Klaus argued. "I cured him!"

"Freya," Finn grunted.

"Hey, it's going to be all right, brother," Freya replied. "We'll fix this, you'll see, okay?" She turned to the others. "Get my pendant."

"It won't work!" Kol reminded them. "Davina fused his soul to his body."

"We've got to try!" Freya snapped. "There's no Other Side, no Ancestral Realm if he dies!"

"Kol, get your bloody girlfriend back here to undo what she's done!" Klaus ordered. "Finn, you will drink from the source until Freya can move you."

He went to bite his wrist, but Finn stopped him. "No, don't leave me alone!"

Freya grabbed his right hand, and Elijah took his left hand. Klaus put his hand on Finn's chest, and Kol put his hand on Finn's knee.

"Brother?" Freya pleaded. "Finn? Hey, brother, we're here. I'm here, brother. You are not alone. I am here with you, okay? I'm with you."

Morgana covered her mouth, eyes burning. She wished there was something she could do. Finn looked up as he began desiccating. Freya openly sobbed. Tears ran down the boys' cheeks. Surrounded by his family, Finn died.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana sat at the desk in the study. Her arms rested on her knees, and she was watching herself pick at the skin around her nails absentmindedly. Grendel was curled up on Freya's lap in hopes of soothing her. Klaus and Elijah were standing nearby.

Morgana felt tremendously guilty. She should've known Lucien was up to something. Here she was, keeping an eye on him and warning everyone against trusting him, and she still couldn’t do jack shit to stop him. She should've realized what he was going to do, after what happened all those years ago.

She had the chance months ago. She had almost killed him. She should've done it. She should've ripped his heart out. None of this would've happened if she hadn't chickened out.

"Lucien did all of this to become like his maker, and yet my bite cannot kill an Original," Klaus mused. "What are we up against, brother?"

"I truly don't know," Elijah replied.

Footsteps made Morgana look up. Hayley was back.

"I might," she said. "Klaus and I found Lucien's R&D lab full of werewolves. He's harvesting venom, but not to find a cure. He's trying to create a more lethal strain."

Morgana closed her eyes and put her head in her hands.

"Well, that must be what he added to the spell to make him whatever he is now," Freya said. "He kept boasting about having something that would make him better than an Original."

"Klaus is descended from one of the seven original wolf bloodlines," Hayley said. "I'm descended from another. Lucien's venom is derived from all seven packs."

Morgana looked back up, horrified.

"Giving him a bite that not even I can cure," Klaus replied.

"There were two vials of serum and he only drank one," Freya added. "Maybe it's because the spell will wear off eventually and he'll need another dose."

Morgana and Klaus looked at each other.

"It's for Aurora," she said.

She, Klaus and Elijah raced to Lafayette Cemetery. When they got to Aurora's tomb, they stopped.

The wall was busted open. Aurora was gone. Morgana cursed.


	18. The Devil Comes Here and Sighs

Morgana took a deep breath, trying to focus on working out the spell and resisting the urge to snap at Klaus. The sound of his incessant pacing behind her and Freya was driving her up a wall.

"You're hovering," Freya sighed.

"I'm supervising," he corrected. "How else to speed up your endeavors? Let's see. Perhaps I should bring Vincent here? Force him to aid you two by removing his legs?"

"For God's sake, Klaus," Morgana snapped. "Vincent doesn't know how to kill Lucien either. And if he leaves the St. James God only knows what the Ancestors will make him do."

"The Ancestors are thoroughly occupied," Elijah assured them as he entered the study, "according to Davina, terrorizing our brother."

"What a surprise," Klaus replied. "Another day, another witch inspired vendetta."

"Well, Davina can take care of Kol for now. Let us focus our energies on Lucien. How do we demolish that rodent?"

"We're working on it," Freya replied.

"Yes, while all have our roles to play, Elijah can stay here and oversee whatever Freya and Morgana are doing," Klaus said. "I'm going to actually accomplish something."

He walked to the door. Elijah tried to stop him. "Brother, accomplishing something--" 

"The time for talking is done!" Klaus cut him off and left.

Morgana sighed.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Maybe it wouldn't be Klaus' incessant pacing that would make Morgana snap. Maybe it would be Elijah's instead.

"We are out of time," he said.

"A sigil is a complicated magical symbol weaponized and condensed to its most potent form, Elijah," Morgana snapped. "With the right elements combined in the right way we'll have a chance at stopping Lucien."

Grendel ran in the room, alarmed. Frantic knocking came from downstairs. Morgana was the first one out, followed by Freya and Elijah. Hayley was already at the entrance. Cami was standing outside.

"It's Klaus," she said. "Lucien has him."

Morgana's heart dropped and started pounding.

"Freya, invite her in," Hayley said.

"Yeah, come in, you're invited," Freya said, overwhelmed.

Cami stepped over the threshold, and they all gathered in the courtyard.

"Tell us what happened," Elijah said.

"Lucien ambushed him," Cami explained. "He knocked him around like it was nothing."

"Did he bite him?" Morgana asked, voice strained.

Cami shook her head. "No. I think wanted him alive. I followed them. Lucien took Klaus back to the penthouse."

A phone buzzed. Elijah pulled his out of his pocket. "Lucien is demanding my presence at the Whiskey Cask, alone and immediately. He says if I delay, Niklaus will die."

Morgana pinched the bridge of her nose and forced herself to breathe. Elijah turned to leave.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
At the sound of Lucien roaring in pain, Morgana smiled. She and Freya entered the room, standing next to Elijah.

"Oh dear," Morgana sighed. "That looks painful."

"What did you do to me?" Lucien asked.

"The sigil will bind you," Freya explained. "Weaken you. The boiling blood I added myself."

"Maybe we can't kill you," Morgana added. "But we can sure as hell make you wish we could."

After a few minutes, he rose up from his knees. "Whew! Well, I admit, ladies, this is a truly valiant effort." His gaze turned to Freya. "Inspired, I assume, by your grief over Finn's demise?"

Freya sneered at him and flicked her wrist. Lucien fell to his knees again.

"Pop goes the weasel!" He said. "A rather potent aneurysm spell. You never fail to impress."

"Oh, I have all kinds of tricks," Freya replied. "We even brought an audience to enjoy the show!"

A group of Strix entered the room and surrounded Lucien.

"Oh, come now, my darling sister," Elijah said. "The Strix _are_ the show. Well, the first act. Act Two, Lucien's buried beneath 1,000 tons of cement. Act Three--spoiler alert--you're a parking lot."

Lucien chuckled. "Even after a thousand years, you've never managed to curb your hubris. You still wander through a smog of your own self-importance. I can kill anything." He gestured to the Strix. "Even them." He gestured to Elijah. "Even you. And, since the Ancestors have made me their champion, they will not allow me to be detained."

He stepped forward as the sigil on the ground faded away. Morgana narrowed her eyes to hide her dread. Lucien spun in a circle and growled.

Elijah rushed him, but Lucien threw him against the wall. Morgana raised her hands and blasted two streams of fire at him. He dodged, but the bottom of his shirt was singed. The Strix vampires went for him, but he took care of them one by one.

"Is that the best you've got?" He asked, spreading his arms.

Freya thrust her hand out. "Delphin eoten cor. Delphin eoten cor."

Blood began pouring out of his chest as his heart started trying to come out. Seeing this, Morgana took Freya's other hand and joined. "Delphin eoten cor. Delphin eoten cor."

The bleeding stopped. They watched in horror as Lucien smirked, realizing the Ancestors were blocking their magic. Elijah grabbed him and threw him against the wall. Then he grabbed Morgana and Freya and left with them.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I can't believe I ever had any sort of feelings for that bastard," Morgana hissed.

Grendel grumbled in agreement.

"I hate him so much, for then and for now." She punctuated each word by throwing another piece of clothing into her bag. It would be safer for her if she stayed at the compound until Lucien was taken care of.

"I hate how charming and sweet he was," she continued. "I hate all his declarations of love and affection. I hate how he used my feelings against me, how he tried to use me, how he flipped like a switch when he didn't get what he wanted."

She dropped on the edge of the bed with a sigh and clenched her fists. Her anger was almost overwhelming.

"I hate how I let him. I let myself be so easily fooled by an admittedly attractive, smooth-talking piece of _shit_ , and I still despise him and myself for it. And then he comes to New Orleans, and I knew he was up to something and I did nothing to stop it. I should've paid more attention. I should've acted."

Grendel suddenly ran out of the room. Morgana's heart started pounding. Of course something would happen. She just _had_ to come back to her apartment _alone_ to get her things. She should've come with someone else, that would've been so much smarter and safer.

She slowly rose from the bed and called on Air. She hovered to the front door so there would be no footsteps. She looked out the peephole and literally sank in relief. She opened the door.

"Congratulations," she said. "You finally found it."

"After how many years?" Klaus asked.

She made a face. "It hasn't been that long, Nik. Come in."

He entered, and she shut the door behind him. She headed back to her room to keep packing.

"I must say, for how gifted you are with magic, you forgot to put up a sound barrier," he said, following.

She froze for only a second before continuing. "What're you talking about?"

"You get loud when you want, love."

She sighed. Of course she did.

"Who do I need to kill?" He asked.

Morgana snorted. "We're already working on that."

His silence made her glance at him. The look on his face almost made her smile.

"You're kidding," Klaus finally said.

"Afraid not," she replied. "I met Lucien not long after my hundredth birthday. I loved him, and I thought he loved me for a good five years."

"What happened?"

She hesitated. "My family had been in possession of a certain spell. It could grant you power beyond your imagination, if you were deemed worthy. At least, that's what the grimoire said. I'd never seen it used, and I never used it myself."

"Because all of the Carter grimoires were destroyed."

"Exactly. I memorized thousands of spells from those books, but that spell wasn't one of them. And when I told Lucien as much, he threw a fit, and I left. He wouldn't even tell me why he was asking about it, or how he even knew about it. I think I figured it out now, though."

She zipped the bag up. "Lucien wanted me to use the spell on him so he could be your better, and when I couldn't do it, he dropped me. I don't know why it took me so long to realize it."

"And even if you had it wouldn't have made a difference," Klaus replied.

Morgana glanced at him. "You don't know that."

"No one will," he countered. "Spending your time wishing you could travel back in time and change things won't solve anything."

"I know." She grabbed the bag. "But you know what will?"

He raised an eyebrow. She smiled.

"Ripping his heart out and watching as the life leaves his eyes."


	19. No More Heartbreaks

Morgana kept reminding herself not to panic. Or cry. Or scream. Or hit something. Or go after Lucien.

He had bitten Cami. Unless they could find a cure, she would die.

Grendel meowed quietly, bringing Morgana back to the present. They were in the study. Cami and Klaus were on the couch. Hayley was sitting on the edge of the table in front of them. Morgana and Freya were standing behind her.

"Hold still," Klaus said. "This is going to burn."

He pressed a cloth against the bite. Cami hissed. "Ow, ow, what is that?"

"It's a healing salve," Freya explained. "Motherwort, white willow bark. The recipe's over a thousand years old."

"So the good stuff, huh?" Cami replied.

"It will ease the pain, dull the symptoms, but it won't stop the infection."

"So I'm screwed?"

"We're gonna do everything we can, Cami," Hayley assured her.

Elijah and Vincent entered the room.

"To that end, a little assistance," Elijah said.

"Cami, I'm so sorry," Vincent said.

"You should be," Klaus growled. "This is your fault. It was you who turned Lucien into a beast."

He stood and started approaching Vincent, but Elijah put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Klaus, stop," Cami scolded. "It's not his fault."

"Cami's right," Hayley agreed. "We all need to work together to fix this."

"I think I know how to fix it," Klaus said. "Lucien has always been obsessed with me. He made himself like me. My bite is cured by my blood."

"You think his blood will work the same?" Morgana asked.

"It makes sense," Elijah said. "Lucien would want that power."

"Allowing him to lord himself over his victims," Klaus agreed.

"Okay, so we got a working theory, now we gotta test it," Vincent said.

"Lucien's blood is all over my apartment," Cami replied. "I sliced him all to hell before I ran."

"Okay, I got this one. Lucien's got no reason to be on the lookout for me."

Vincent left the room.

"I'm coming with," Morgana called after him. "Better not to be out alone."

She looked at Cami. "We're gonna fix this."

Cami gave a small smile. Morgana forced herself to return it, and left.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana set down her lit Water candle. She and Vincent were at Cami's apartment. Cami hadn't been kidding when she said Lucien's blood was all over the place.

Footsteps made her jump to her feet, fireballs in hand. She groaned and relaxed when she saw Marcel.

"Could've announced your presence," she scolded. She kneeled back down.

"Elijah called," he replied. "Said you'd be here. How is she?"

"How do you think she is?" Vincent snapped. "She got pulled into a vampire vendetta and now if we can't make this work, she's gonna die. So she's scared, she's angry, and right about now she's probably wishing she never stepped foot in the Quarter."

Morgana pursed her lips. "Don't blame her."

She took Vincent's hand and closed her eyes, raising her other hand palm up. "Venez sanguinem au moi. Venez sanguinem au moi."

The spell ended, and Morgana opened her eyes. The blood was in the bowl they'd brought. Vincent tipped forward. Morgana and Marcel moved to catch him, but he held up his hand.

"You good?" She asked.

"The Ancestors are fickle," he replied. "They don't want me using magic because they know I sided with vampires. Come on."

He picked up the bowl and stood. They followed suit, and the three of them headed back to the compound.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Freya met them at the entrance, but Marcel stopped. She invited him in. Vincent handed her the bowl.

"How is she?" Morgana asked.

"Let's just hope this works," Freya replied.

They followed her upstairs. Cami was coughing hard. Freya handed her the bowl. "Here, drink this."

Cami took the bowl and drank. Morgana prayed it worked.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
She couldn't stop her leg from bouncing. She, Vincent and Marcel were downstairs in the courtyard. The sun had set a bit ago, and Cami was unconscious upstairs. Klaus was with her, keeping her company in her mind.

Freya came down. "She's getting worse."

"Then we try something else," Morgana insisted. She turned to Marcel. "What about the Strix?"

"The Strix don't have a solution for something that's never existed before," he replied.

"Lucien engineered a pure strain of wolf venom, designed to kill even an Original," Freya said slowly. "It may be that there is no cure."

"I'm not giving up," Morgana and Vincent said at the same time.

"Neither am I, but..." Freya trailed off.

"Okay, um, blood magic's not working," Vincent continued. "So what else is there?"

Hayley and Elijah walked in. Hayley was carrying Hope.

"How about a magical miracle baby?" She suggested.

Freya took Hope from her, and she and Morgana went back upstairs.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana watched as Freya injected Hope's blood into Cami's arm. Elijah walked in.

"Anything?" He asked.

"I've tried everything that I know, including the power that resides in the blood of our niece," Freya sighed. "The infection has spread everywhere. There's nothing more we can do. Klaus can ease her pain, but...she won't last much longer."

They stayed there for some time. No one said anything as they watched Cami get worse and worse, until Vincent came in.

"We gotta do something, alright?" He said. "So channel me, cast a healing spell, and that will buy us time."

"It won't stop the inevitable," Freya reminded him.

"Okay, then put her soul in that damn pendant! It worked for Finn, it will work for her."

"Dahlia crafted the pendant. It will only work for our family. I could put her soul in another body."

Morgana shook her head. "She'd have to agree for it to hold. She wouldn't do that to an innocent person, not even to save herself."

"Well, maybe we worry about that later," Freya replied.

"We cannot deny her the dignity of choice," Elijah cut in. "Camille lived with grace. She will have it now."  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana sat between Freya and Hayley on the couch in the courtyard. Grendel was on Morgana's lap. Hope was on Hayley's. Morgana rested her head on Freya's shoulder, eyes red and watery and puffy. Marcel was at the bar with his head in his hands.

Davina hurried in and stopped when she saw them. She turned to Marcel.

"Marcel?" She called quietly.

He turned around and stared at her for a moment. Then he went up to her and pulled her into a hug as they both started crying.

Morgana nudged Grendel, and they both got up. He jumped on her shoulder, and they went upstairs to the bedroom Cami was in. They passed Vincent on the way. Neither he nor Morgana said anything. What could they say?

She froze in the doorway. Cami was laying on the bed like before, but this time her skin was gray and desiccated. Tears flooded Morgana's eyes again and leaked down her cheeks. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and went and sat on the edge of the bed. She took Cami's cold hand in both of hers.

"For once I don't know what to say," she began. She let out a small, quick chuckle. "God, Cami, I am so _sorry_. I'm sorry you got swept up into the mess, that it turned your whole life upside down and got you killed. You didn't deserve to _die_ , not you of all people.

"You were a great friend. That sentence sounds cliché and overused, but it's true. You listened and helped so many people, myself included. Shit, you helped _Klaus_. You deserve a medal for that."

She sucked in a shaky breath. Her voice kept cracking. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without you, Cami. But I do know that your death will not be in vain. And as long as I am alive, no matter how old and cynical and possibly senile I get, I--I will never, _ever_ forget you. So wherever you are, save a drink for me. We're gonna have a lot to catch up on."

Morgana gave Cami's hand a final squeeze and gently laid it down. She stood and quickly left the room. She made a beeline for her room and slammed the door shut. She clapped a hand over her mouth and fell on to the bed.

The sobs tore their way out of her throat, loud and painful. As quickly as they started, all the rage she'd been forcing away boiled over, and she screamed. Lights flickered, thunder crashed and boomed, rain poured outside. Objects flew across the room, some breaking, some falling to the floor. She grabbed her head, fingers knotting in her hair. The screams turned into more sobs as the rage went away to be replaced by pain and sadness.

Eventually, Morgana was able to stop. She caught her breath and forced it to slow. The thunder stopped, and the rain slowed to a drizzle. Resentment slipped in with the sadness. She stood and wiped her face. She left her room and went to the nearest bar. She poured herself a glass of bourbon and downed it.

She found Freya and Vincent downstairs. Freya was lighting candles.

"What happened to her is on me," he said. "I did the spell that turned Lucien into whatever the hell he is."

"And he used my blood," Freya reminded him. "My family's magic. Which means we made him. Now that we have his blood, we're gonna find a way to unmake him."

She handed the bowl of Lucien's blood out to him. Morgana cracked her knuckles.

A violent earthquake suddenly shook the compound. They all grabbed the table, trying to steady themselves and save their work at the same time. Then it was over. They looked at each other.

"What the hell was that?" Morgana rasped.


	20. Where Nothing Stays Buried

Morgana paced in front of the table. The remains of failed spells were scattered across it. They'd been trying all night to find something to kill Lucien with no such luck.

The Ancestors had caused that earthquake. It unsettled her. They shouldn't have that much power, shouldn't use it to lord it over the witches who only want to please them so they can survive. The question was why did they cause the earthquake. She had a feeling they would find out sooner rather than later.

Vincent covered Aurora's head back up as Freya came down the stairs.

"Good news," he said. "I think I found a spell that'll draw together all the serum that Aurora took. Now, it's gonna take a little while, but if I can concentrate it in her heart, we can extract it with this." He held up a syringe. "Destroy it and make sure we ain't got no more of these unkillable monsters on our hands."

"That's a relief," Morgana breathed.

"In the meantime, I think I may have found a way to kill Lucien," Freya replied. "Now my mother once tried to end my siblings by reversing the Original Vampire spell, and according to her grimoire only the witch who cast the spell could undo it."

"So since Vincent created the serum, he can flip Lucien's Beast Mode switch off and we can kill him," Morgana guessed.

Freya nodded. Vincent shook his head. "It wasn't my power that cast that spell. The Ancestors used me as a conduit for some ugly magic that only the spirits have access to. I'm sorry, but nobody alive can tap into that."

The girls' faces fell. His phone rang, and he pulled it out. "Marcel's been blowing up my phone. All right, I'll be back."

Morgana nodded, and he left. She picked up a book and began searching through it. Elijah entered.

"Something the matter?" He asked.

"I need a strand of your hair," Freya replied. "I'm working on an early warning system. Lucien has all the Ancestors in New Orleans on his side. I need to know if they try to magically interfere with any of you."

"Freya, when we said 'no rest for the wicked', I certainly didn't expect you to--"

"I'm up against centuries of dead witches who are apparently now strong enough to reach beyond the grave and shake the entire city on its foundation," she cut him off. "I'll rest once I've sent them all running back to hell."

Morgana smirked.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
She swore she was not going to survive much longer. The Ancestors had caused Kol to kill Davina. If they consecrated her, she'd be stuck in the Ancestral Well, and God only knew what they would do to her. But if they didn't consecrate her, they couldn't save her.

"If we draw Davina's spirit into a circle, the Ancestors won't be able to touch her," Morgana said. "That should buy us enough to time to find a way to resurrect her, but we'll need to channel an Original to sustain the spell."

"Take me," Kol insisted. "Put me down for all I care if it keeps her safe."

"No," Freya replied. "You've been marred by the Ancestors magic, so Klaus, Elijah--rock paper scissors."

The candles on the table flared.

"That can't be good," Elijah said.

"My early warning system," Freya breathed. "I think a New Orleans witch is trying to meddle with one of you."

"Lucien has the new Regent at his beck and call," Klaus said. "It's me he's coming after."

Rebekah's portrait on the wall caught fire. Morgana's stomach flipped. "He's going for Rebekah."

"Lucien thought that killing Cami would have me charging into his lair on a suicide mission," Klaus mused. "When it didn’t, he set his sights on Rebekah. He's kicking hornet's nests until we have no choice but to confront him."

"Presumably he still believes she's at the bottom of the ocean," Elijah said.

"I cloaked all of you," Freya agreed. "But with the Ancestors working for Lucien, it may take a while, but if he wants to find Rebekah, he will."

Klaus began to leave. "I'll go get her."

"It's not safe out there," Morgana reminded him.

He spun back around. "What then? Are we to sit here and play cards until Lucien slides Rebekah's bitten corpse down the hall?"

"Let me go," Elijah offered. He went to leave, but Klaus grabbed his arm.

"I moved her," he said.

Elijah stared at him.

"Don't look so surprised. I never did like you two sharing secrets."

"Tell me where she is," Elijah replied. "Unless you expect me to stay here and leave our sister entirely defenseless."

"I expect you to prevent Kol from suffering the same loss that I did!" Klaus snapped. "Lucien deserves our collective ire. Today, your grievances are tabled."

He let Elijah go and left. Morgana prayed nothing happened.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
She set her candles down around the chalk circle on the ground and lit them. She walked around to the top of the circle and stood just outside it next to Elijah. Freya joined them on his other side so he was between them. He took their hands and kneeled.

"Se que atrae us van el brun'en. Se que atrae us van el brun'en. Se que atrae us van el brun'en. Se que atrae us van el brun'en."

Davina appeared in the circle, and the spell stopped. Morgana lurched forward, but caught herself before she reached the circle. She braced her hands on her knees and regulated her breathing before straightening.

The strange thing about it was Davina looked fine. There was no indication that she was a ghost. Morgana couldn't help but find it a little unsettling.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Freya led Morgana and Elijah to the balcony and shut the door behind them.

"I think there's a way to kill Lucien," she said.

"What is it?" Elijah asked.

"As long as Davina's caught between our worlds, I can use her as a conduit to channel power from the Ancestors. The same power that was used to create Lucien. Once I have it, I can make Lucien killable again."

"But to do that we'd have to channel Davina while she's in the Ancestral Well, which would require us to break that circle," Morgana argued.

"We can't do that," Elijah said. "Freya, that will destroy her."

"I know what's at stake, Elijah," Freya sighed. "I know. What the hell do we do?"

They were quiet as they thought. An idea struck Morgana.

"Use me," she said.

They stared at her. She rolled her eyes.

"I can't die. So kill me, consecrate me as a New Orleans witch, and use me."

Freya shook her head. "The Ancestors could trap you there. You wouldn't wake up, Morgana, it would be like you truly died."

"I may not know much about the spell my mother placed on me, but I know it is older than the Ancestors themselves. Their power can't undo it." She crossed her arms, suddenly feeling nervous. "You won't have much time to do it, but you shouldn't need a lot. If this is the alternative to letting Davina die, we're taking it. I will _not_ let her down."

Morgana opened the balcony doors and left. She wouldn't leave Freya and Elijah with another choice.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Screaming brought Morgana running back into the courtyard. Marcel was on the ground unconscious. Elijah was standing near him. Davina wasn't in the circle anymore, and Freya turned around.

" _What the fuck did you do?_ " Morgana demanded.

"It had to be done," Freya insisted.

She and Elijah brushed past her. Several tears ran down her cheeks. There was nothing that could be done for Davina anymore now. The Ancestors were going to destroy her, and it was their fault.

Morgana balled her fists. The couch behind her flew across the courtyard and into the wall. She turned and followed Freya and Elijah.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When they found Klaus and Hayley, Lucien had his hand in Hayley's chest from behind. Klaus was kneeling in front of them. Elijah ripped Lucien's arm out of Hayley and threw him back. Klaus stood and Hayley stepped back. Morgana and Freya joined hands and reversed the spell to take Lucien's power away. Morgana took great joy from Lucien's yelps and gasps as the spell worked.

"His power's gone," Freya said. "He's nothing but an ordinary vampire now."

Elijah kicked the back of Lucien's knees, forcing him to kneel.

"You see that family drama you so joyfully derived does have its merits," Klaus said.

"You can kill me, but the prophecy still stands," Lucien insisted. "You cannot outrun it."

"I've heard about a thousand years too much from you," Klaus hissed. "For a century you lived with my name, and you never did quite recover from losing it, did you? You became a man of wealth and stature, but you never could crawl from my shadow. And in the end, despite the gift of immortality, you have always known what you truly are."

He crouched down and picked up a piece of broken glass. Elijah grabbed Lucien by his hair and forced his head back.

"Please," he whimpered.

Klaus sliced his mouth into a grotesque smile and dropped the glass. He stood and turned, looking at Morgana. He gestured to Lucien. A cruel smile spread across her face as she approached them. She crouched down in front of Lucien.

She brushed her knuckles against his cheek, still smiling. Oh, the look on his face was beautiful. It was the look of someone who knew they were going to die and couldn't do anything to stop it.

Eyes blazing, Morgana held her hand over Lucien's chest. She maintained eye contact with him as she ripped his heart out with her magic.

There was a difference between ripping someone's heart out with your bare hand and using magic. Using your hand was quick and brutal. Using magic was much slower, much more painful, and somehow more brutal. As Lucien's heart finally flew into her hand, the light left his eyes, and Morgana was filled with a twisted satisfaction. His body slumped to the ground, already desiccating. She rose and dropped the heart.

They got Rebekah's coffin loaded into the car. Morgana used Fire to burn Lucien's body.  
"Come on, let's let Lucien burn alone," Klaus said. "We should get back to Kol and Marcel."

"Klaus," Freya called. "There's something you should know."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana leaned against the wall, holding a bottle of whiskey. She took a swig as Freya turned to face her.

"You know," Morgana began, looking at the ground. "I gave Davina this little cat charm as a gift for the Harvest two years ago. It was meant to represent a Familiar since she didn't have one, so maybe she wouldn't feel too alone in this damn world. Every time I saw her afterward, she was wearing it as a necklace."

Her eyes watered, yet her expression was cold as she looked up at Freya. "I told you to use me."

"I couldn't take that risk," Freya replied quietly.

" _The hell you couldn't!_ I'm over four hundred years old, Freya! I have lived long enough, and I have died six times! I can die plenty more because _it will not last!_ " She took a shaky breath, tears spilling over. "Davina--that poor, kind, strong girl--is _worse than dead_ because you didn't trust me enough to believe that I would be okay."

Morgana pushed off the wall and walked away to her room. She set the bottle on the night stand and fell backwards on to the bed. Grendel jumped up next to her. She curled up with him and cried into his fur.


	21. Give 'Em Hell Kid

The morning passed in a blur. Morgana got up, got dressed, walked with the procession, and sat in the corner of Rousseau's nursing a drink. Cami would've liked this. The music, the people--she would've appreciated it.

Morgana left the wake not long after she arrived. As she left a flower on the casket, a stray tear left her eye. She ducked her head to wipe it away, and when she looked up, Will Kinney was looking back at her. She nodded at him and quickly left.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Lafayette Cemetery was empty. She'd decided it was probably for the best that she not be there during Davina's official wake. She was just as guilty as the rest of them. She would've felt like she was crashing.

Seeing Davina's name engraved on the Claire tomb set the tears off again. Morgana hated crying, but at this point she couldn't bring herself to even attempt to wait until she was locked away in the privacy of her room.

She set a flower down in front of the tomb, another cat charm tied around the stem. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the tomb. Then she opened her eyes and left the cemetery.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Apparently the time for grieving was over. What Lucien had said about the prophecy was bothering Freya, and the more she thought about it the more it bothered Morgana, too. Which pissed her off because, even though he was dead, they still couldn't seem to get away from him.

So, despite the tension between them right now, Morgana and Freya had been trying to read the prophecy since Morgana came back from the cemetery.

"Anything?" Elijah asked, entering the room.

Morgana shook her head.

"There's too many pieces," Freya sighed. "Every time we get close to seeing something it just fades away."

Elijah rested a hand on her shoulder. They gasped, and because Morgana was still holding Freya's hand, she did too as visions flashed through her mind.

Blood spattered Elijah's portrait. A book--no, not just a book, a grimoire--opened to reveal a spell. A shadowy figure stood and turned. _Marcel_. His eyes were red, and his teeth were longer and dripping in blood.

The visions stopped. Elijah took his hand off Freya's shoulder, and Morgana took her hand away.

After a moment, Elijah held his hands out to them. "Finish it."

Morgana swallowed hard as she took his hand and then Freya's. As soon as Freya took his other hand, the visions started again.

Marcel stood on a bridge at night. Elijah nursed a bite on his arm. Hayley, blood spattered on her face, was holding Hope. Klaus was held down by a group of people as Marcel plunged something into his chest. Elijah and Marcel clinked their glasses together in Marcel's loft. Marcel plunged a stake into Elijah's back. Several coffins were laid out. The warning from last year rang in their heads throughout the visions in Morgana's and Freya's voices.

"You will all fall. One by friend, one by foe and one by family."

The visions stopped, and they all let go of each other. Grendel jumped on to Morgana's lap. She stroked along his spine before standing.

The three of them rushed down the stairs.

"What the hell did I just see?" Elijah asked.

"Vincent told us he found a way to extract the serum from Aurora," Morgana replied. "We were a bit preoccupied at the time, but..."

"If Vincent did steal the serum, if he gave it to Marcel..." Freya trailed off.

"We're in trouble," Elijah finished.

"Yeah."

She and Morgana continued on to Aurora's body, leaving Elijah standing there.

They held their hands over Aurora's body. Panic bubbled in Morgana's chest again.

"It's gone," she said. She looked over Freya's shoulder at Elijah. "We need to warm Klaus."

He held up his phone. "He's not answering."

"Elijah, the power I stole from the Ancestors, it was enough to deal with Lucien," Freya said. "But that power's faded. If Marcel takes that serum and becomes the beast foretold in the prophecy, I won't be able to stop him."

"Locate Niklaus," he replied after a moment. "I'll find Marcel."  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When they found Klaus, they found Marcel as well. Morgana stayed at the compound. She couldn't bring herself to go after them. Marcel wouldn't do anything.

At least, that's what she told herself. Yet the more she repeated it, the more she began to realize something was going to happen. And something did.

Elijah killed Marcel. His body was now lying somewhere at the bottom of the lake. As soon as she heard the news, Morgana started crying again. She was surprised she had any tears left at this point. All these deaths, all within mere weeks of each other.

She never left her room. She stayed curled up in bed with Grendel. Marcel had been her friend, her enemy, and her ally. She'd been able to count on him, in the end, even if they didn't always get along. And now he was gone.

Or was he? The visions had shown Marcel as the Beast. He had taken the serum. Elijah killed him because he was afraid Marcel would take it and come after them. But what if he'd already taken the serum? What if Marcel, wherever he was right now, was about to wake up as the Beast, ready to tear them all apart?

Morgana didn't sleep that night. She was too afraid that when she woke up, her fears would come true. So, instead, she lay frozen, staring at the wall and doing nothing to stop the thoughts running through her head.


	22. The Bloody Crown

"You said you put the prophecy to rest," Kol said. "So what's the hurry?"

"I didn't sleep last night," Freya replied. "I just had this feeling of dread."

Morgana looked up at her from the map. "Me too."

Kol looked between them for a moment before gesturing to the map and the candles on it. "And what's this? Your early warning system?"

"This map is spelled to trace Niklaus' enemies," Freya explained. "Let's just hope I'm being paranoid."

She spread her hands over the map. "Calaste piso tal tras es tros. Calaste piso tal tras es tros."

The drops of blood on the map immediately began making their way to New Orleans. Morgana covered her mouth, eyes wide.

"I guess you're not being paranoid when there is, in fact, a hoard of killers there to get you," Kol said.

He went downstairs to tell the others. Morgana and Freya stayed upstairs to try and track how fast these people were moving.

The blood they used filled the entire map once the spell was finished. They glanced at each other just as Grendel came running in. He arched his back and began hissing and swiping his paw in the direction of a spot behind Freya. Before the girls could react, someone whizzed by. Freya gasped. Seeing a cut on Freya's neck, Morgana whipped around to see a vampire. The vampire waved her fingers at them, brandishing a metal claw ring.

Grendel growled low in his throat. Before Morgana could do anything, however, Hayley appeared behind the vampire and ripped her heart out. Morgana breathed a sigh of relief. Grendel jumped on her shoulder, still growling. She and Hayley helped Freya up.

"What was on that ring?" Morgana asked.

"Poison," Freya groaned.

Morgana swore under her breath. Another vampire entered the room. Hayley went after him, and he threw her on the table. She shoved her hand through his chest, blood splattering all over her and the furniture. She shoved his body off her and joined the girls again.

"Come on, let's go," she said.

She vamp sped them all across the street to her apartment. Freya laid down on the sofa. Hayley looked at herself in the mirror and wiped away some of the blood on her face. Morgana's stomach dropped; she'd seen this before.

"The prophecy is coming true, isn't it?" She whispered.

"No," Hayley argued. "There has to be another way out of this, especially with your magic."

She bit her wrist and held it out to Freya. "Here, drink. It won't cure you, but it will help you."

"Lucien had an antidote in the penthouse," Morgana said.

"Even if I was cured, the power I used to fight Lucien is gone," Freya replied. "There's nothing that can stop Marcel now."

"There might be one thing," Hayley said. "Stay here, watch Hope."  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Hayley had undaggered Rebekah. Morgana prayed she could stop Marcel. Freya, Hayley and Morgana had taken Hope and gone to Lucien's penthouse to search for the cure to the poison.

"It's not here, I can't find it," Freya said.

"It has to be," Morgana argued. "Klaus stole it from Lucien before, it has to be here."

"There's no other place to look. If I can't find the cure, I will die."

The doors burst open as Klaus called for them. The three of them rushed to meet them. Klaus and Elijah were carrying Kol. Kol had a bite mark on his neck, and Elijah had one on his arm. They set him down on the sofa.

"I'm going to die," he said.

"You're not going to die," Klaus scolded.

"Now that sounds familiar. Isn't that what you said to Finn and Cami?"

"Lucien created his venom from all seven werewolf packs," Morgana interrupted. "Maybe the cure is within them."

"Oh great," Freya replied. "That's the first piece in a puzzle none of us will be alive to solve. I'm poisoned, Rebekah is hexed, and our brothers are bitten. We need three different cures to three different ailments, each of which could take years to find, and none of us will make it through the day."

Morgana ran her hands through her hair, once, twice, three times, and forced herself to breathe normally. Now was not the time to panic. Panicking could come later; right now, something had to be done. What that something was, she had no clue.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Trial my ass," she snapped. "Going back there is suicide."

Marcel wanted Klaus to come back to the compound and stand trial for his crimes. With all those pissed off vampires, it would be a lynching instead.

"Take Hayley, take Hope and Morgana and get the hell out of the city," Elijah said.

"No," Hayley argued. "We won't leave here."

Kol suddenly started thrashing on the sofa. "No! Davina, please! No, don't leave me!"

Hayley, Elijah and Morgana held him down. Freya and Klaus stepped aside. Morgana called on Air and listened in.

"There may be a way to save them," Freya said.

"Then I will move the world to make it so," Klaus replied.

"I need time."

"You think I should stand trial before that death-dealing mob?"

"Well, that's the easy part. In order to save your family, you need to come out of that trial alive."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Morgana stopped him in the hall outside the elevator. "You're really going?"

"I have to," he replied.

She crossed her arms and looked down, biting her lip. "They'll kill you, Nik."

"They'll make me suffer instead."

"Oh, like that's so much better." When she looked up at him, there were tears in her eyes. "I won't let you go. You can't go back there, Nik, _please._ "

Klaus stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I don't beg," she continued, voice shaking. "But I am _begging_ you, _don't go._ "

"I have to, love, I have to keep you all alive," he whispered.

Morgana realized then what Freya had been talking about.

" _ **In order to save your family, you need to come out of that trial alive.**_ "

She held him tighter. After a moment, she pulled away and cupped his face.

"Don't say anything," she whispered. "I'm going to fix everything. I'm going to come back for you, because _I love you_ , Nik, and I'm going to make this right. Just promise me you'll stay alive."

He nodded. She forced herself to smile, though it was a small one, and let go of him. She watched him enter the elevator, and just before the doors shut, she waved at him and turned away.

Morgana covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, keeping the tears and screams at bay. Her job wasn't done yet.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I will, hang tight," Hayley said. "I'll come for you soon."

Morgana glanced up at her as she hung up. "Did it work?"

Hayley nodded. Freya, Elijah and Kol were sitting around a table. Freya was almost done preparing the spell. She looked over at them.

"Rebekah's dagger," she said. "It has her blood."

Hayley brought the dagger over to her. Freya set it down over a piece of paper. Words were written on it in a language Morgana didn't know. Freya began changing the spell. Morgana chewed the inside of her cheek.

And just like that, all three Mikaelson siblings slumped over. The spell Freya used had put them in a sleep, like when they were daggered, and tied them to Klaus. As long as he was alive, they would be alive as well.

Morgana grasped Hayley's hand and squeezed. Hayley squeezed back, and they rushed to pack.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
She leaned against the side of the moving truck. Rebekah, Elijah, Kol and Freya were in their coffins. It was the only way to safely move them. Morgana had taken care of her lease; the landlord had been easy to convince, just like last time.

Grendel licked her cheek. She reached up and scratched under his chin. Then she climbed in the cabin of the truck between Hayley and Hope, who was already settled in her car seat. Hayley would take first shift, then Morgana, and so on until they figured out a plan.

Her job was not done. It wouldn't be done for some months, possibly even years. But Morgana would be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to reunite the Mikaelsons. To reunite with Klaus. No matter what it took.

No matter how long it took.


End file.
